National CineMedia (NCM) Completes Fantasy Movie League Acquisition
July 31 2017 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
NCM Executes Key Acquisition as the First
Step in its New Digital Strategy
National CineMedia (NASDAQ: NCMI), America’s Movie Network, has
completed its acquisition of Fantasy Movie League (FML), the box
office predictions game that combines the fierce competition of
fantasy sports with the insanely popular world of entertainment and
movies. It marks the company’s first acquisition as a key part of
its new focus on consumer digital products for movie audiences.
To introduce a new audience of more than 750 million moviegoers
a year to the game, Fantasy Movie League will be regularly featured
in NCM’s new Noovie cinema pre-show, launching at the end of
September. It will be seen on over 20,500 screens in over 1,600
theaters nationwide, including AMC, Cinemark, Regal Entertainment
Group and over 45 other leading theater circuits.
“This is the first step in NCM’s new digital strategy, allowing
us to reach not just moviegoers in the theater, but movie audiences
on all screens everywhere,” said NCM’s Chief Digital Officer &
SVP of Corporate Development, Lawrence Snapp. “To put it in movie
industry terms, we will use the big screen as the trailer for the
digital experience, driving audiences from our new Noovie pre-show
to NCM’s digital properties like Fantasy Movie League and then back
to the theater to catch the next big movie. There’s a real synergy
between screens of all sizes when it comes to reaching movie
audiences, and our goal is to create compelling consumer
experiences for movie fans.”
As part of the acquisition, Fantasy Movie League co-founders
Eric LaVanchy and Larry Tobin have joined NCM’s growing Digital
Products team, both in the role of general manager of Digital
Gaming. Reporting to Snapp, they will be based in Los Angeles and
will oversee the growth of Fantasy Movie League as well as
development of new compelling online consumer games for NCM.
LaVanchy and Tobin are both leaders in digital and mobile gaming
with a long track record of success. Eric LaVanchy has developed
more than 100 interactive games for sports, media and consumer
brands including Anheuser-Busch, MTV, the NBA, the NFL Players
Association, the NHL, and Sony, and is also named on a patent for
affinity-based multiplayer gaming in partnership with Electronic
Arts. Larry Tobin has led the strategy, development and maintenance
of online and mobile gaming services for major media portals and
sports leagues for nearly two decades, including Yahoo!, FOX Sports
Interactive, the NHL and AT&T.
FML Co-creator and ESPN Senior Fantasy Analyst Matthew Berry
will remain actively involved in Fantasy Movie League as a
consultant and evangelist.
Fantasy Movie League (FML) is all about predicting the box
office. It’s easy to play but challenging to master. Movie fans can
play for free by downloading the iOS app or visiting
www.fantasymovieleague.com to set up their own private league with
co-workers, friends and family, or play in public leagues against
anyone. Players become virtual theater owners and select which
movies to show that weekend to earn the biggest box office. Winners
can score great prizes every week, ranging from movie gift
certificates, to T-Shirts, to premiere tickets and other special
prizes from movie studio partners. Whether it's studying the
upcoming film slate, watching FML’s advice shows, listening to the
FML podcast, setting their line-ups, or checking the final results
every Monday, fans engage with the game all week long.
“Fantasy sports are hugely popular, and Americans love movies
even more than sports,” said NCM Executive Vice President and Chief
Revenue Officer, Scott Felenstein. “There are over 210 million
people in the U.S. who self-identify as movie fans, which is more
than the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and NASCAR combined!
Plus, FML attracts a younger, more gender-balanced audience than
traditional fantasy sports, and its players are more brand aware,
brand loyal, and three times more engaged. Fantasy Movie League
allows fans to interact with the world of Hollywood like nothing
else, which makes for a truly compelling brand extension beyond the
big screen.”
About National CineMedia (NCM)
National CineMedia (NCM) is America's Movie Network. As the #1
Millennial weekend network in the U.S., NCM is the connector
between brands and movie audiences. According to Nielsen, more than
750 million moviegoers annually attend theaters that are currently
under contract to present NCM's pre-show in over 45 leading
national and regional theater circuits including AMC Entertainment
Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal
Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC). NCM's cinema advertising network
offers broad reach and unparalleled audience engagement with over
20,500 screens in over 1,600 theaters in 187 Designated Market
Areas® (all of the top 50). NCM Digital goes beyond the big screen,
extending in-theater campaigns into online and mobile marketing
programs to reach entertainment audiences. National CineMedia, Inc.
(NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 39.3% interest in, and is the managing member
of, National CineMedia, LLC. For more information, visit
www.ncm.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170731005646/en/
National CineMediaAmy Jane Finnerty,
212-931-8117amy.finnerty@ncm.com
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