National CineMedia, a digital distributor of concerts for movie theaters, has nailed down nonexclusive content agreements with two leaders in the concert business, Live Nation and Network Live.
The latter is a joint venture among AOL, XM Satellite Radio and promoter AEG Live, which means that, ultimately, NCM has the two largest promoters in the world committed to bringing it concerts.
Big-screen concerts widen reach of musicians’ tours
Coming soon to a theater near you: more concerts from today’s hottest acts.
National CineMedia, a digital distributor of concerts for movie theaters, has nailed down nonexclusive content agreements with two leaders in the concert business, Live Nation and Network Live.
The latter is a joint venture among AOL, XM Satellite Radio and promoter AEG Live, which means that, ultimately, NCM has the two largest promoters in the world committed to bringing it concerts.
NCM, owned by Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark USA, delivers music content to 11,000 screens in 78 markets through its Big Screen Concerts division. “NCM is the leader in their market,” Faisel Durrani, president of marketing for Live Nation, says. “They will get us the greatest reach from the outset.”
Live Nation was first out of the gate with a May 8 deal, but the NCM/Network Live relationship, announced eight days later, already was in place to a large degree. That partnership dates back to a pioneering Bon Jovi album-release event staged September 19 at the Nokia Theater in New York for “Have a Nice Day.” The event was beamed to 100 screens in 50 markets.
“What’s different now is there is a formal arrangement in place where we can really launch a program and a franchise and a consistent opportunity for these two different constituencies to really gain the benefits,” Network Live COO Andrew Thau says.
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Live Nation’s Durrani says his company can deliver 10 concerts to NCM during the next 12 months. Galley says neither Live Nation nor Network Live has committed to a specific number of concerts, but rather their “best effort.”
In all cases, the promoter/producers handle the concert production, and NCM delivers the content to the theaters, “including all the technology associated with the broadcast or multicast,” Galley says.
“This technology allows us to present a patron experience that’s exceptional: big screen, big sound, but without a big price tag,” Galley says. Typically tickets are $12.50-$15, a fraction of what the best seats for most headlining concerts run at the venue.
The concept already has delivered valuable exposure for bands. On May 9, NCM simulcast a Widespread Panic show from Atlanta’s Fox Theater, which fans viewed live for $15 on 150 screens coast to coast.
The Panic concert will become a Sanctuary DVD at some point. Similarly, the night before it goes on sale June 20, the upcoming Korn DVD “Live on the Other Side” will premiere in more than 100 movie theaters nationwide via Big Screen Concerts in a deal with Live Nation.
Thau says the concert-in-a-movie-theater experience is already taking hold with consumers, and he expects it to grow rapidly. “No tour hits every city, and when they do hit a city, often it’s very expensive,” he says.
An increase in the number of digital theaters — NCM distributes films to its network digitally, secure and encrypted — and more sophisticated marketing and ticketing could drive growth.
“There are lots of factors that are converging at one point that make the potential for this enormous,” Thau says. “The concert market is very mature, but this market is in its infancy.”
Source: Yahoo/Reuters/Billboard