BoxOffice® Pro - October 2012

NATO
NOTES
WHAT’S THE
ALTERNATIVE?
The time is now to win audiences over with the new trend in programming
Gary Klein
Vice President and
General Counsel,
NATO
■ OK, Jeopardy! fans, the category is “Exhibition” and the answer is “A rock concert by
Korn; the Ring Cycle operas by Wagner; a performance by noted diva Anna Netrebko.”
Now, as a former contestant, my answer would have been, “What are three things my
wife would have to drag me to kicking and screaming?” But in keeping with the focus of
this particular issue, you may have guessed that the
answer is, “What three events were, at ous times since 2002, shown in a movie
varitheater?”
And you would be absolutely
right.
These and other alternative tent events—think musicals, stage
performances, rock concerts
and sports events—are usually
screened on a weekday ekday
con-
at a time when seats need
to be fi lled. But with
digital projection
now mainstream,
it’s time to make
sure audiences
know that these
programs are a new,
major trend in the cinema industry. These new services provide
our industry an opportunity ortunity to attract new audiences, take advantage
of new content, provide new services and hopefully develop into a new,
growing revenue stream for the exhibition industry.
Although relatively ely small in comparison to box office revenue, nonmovie
entertainment t has nevertheless grown to approximately $120 lion a year, including a more than 50 percent increase from 2009 to 2010.
But the key is to work together toward the future. At a recent investment
mil-
conference in New York, Chris McGurk, CEO of Cinedigm, predicted that
alternative content in movie theaters, enabled by digital cinema technology
that makes distribution ion of such programs easier and less expensive than fi lm
reels, could eventually ly be a $1 billion business worldwide. And why not?
Alternative content is a means of providing consumers with the opportunity
to see an event they might otherwise never experience.
Take opera, for example. Although my experience is limited to
the Marx Brothers’ A Night at the Opera (best line: Groucho: “That’s
what they call the sanity clause.” Chico: “You can’t fool me. There
ain’t no sanity clause.”), those more cultured than I ensured that
tickets for the in-theater broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera in
2011 sold out well in advance of the performances.
WHO ARE THE PLAYERS IN THE ALTERNATIVE
CONTENT SPACE?
The success of the Met’s distribution model is attributed to
National CineMedia and its NCM Fathom division, which are
clearly the dominant force in the market and distribute content
NCM
FATHOM
EVENTS IS
PRESENTING
HITCHCOCK’S THE
BIRDS AT SELECT
THEATERS ON
SEPT. 19
10 BOXOFFICE OFFICE
PRO
OCTOBER 2012