Nielsen Entertainment and MovieTickets.com Partner to Launch Pioneering Research Service for Film Industry

Nielsen Entertainment and MovieTickets.com Partner to Launch Pioneering Research Service for Film Industry

Newly-Formed Movie Advisory Board Offers Access to Coveted Moviegoer Audience at Key Decision Points, Can Match Responses with Historical and Future Ticketing Data

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen Entertainment and MovieTickets.com are partnering to launch a pioneering research service, the two companies announced today. Through the exclusive deal, MovieTickets.com and Nielsen will debut a new service to offer innovative research tools using information collected from their new panel of moviegoers, the Movie Advisory Board (MAB).

For the first time, the premier market research firm for the entertainment industry will be able to talk to moviegoers at the point of sale, and monitor their assessments as to why they chose the movie and how they liked it. The partnership will enable clients to access moviegoers at key times in their decision making process, whether prior to ticket selection, or just after the transaction has been completed and do so through the research expertise of Nielsen Entertainment, including NRG (National Research Group), EDI and VideoScan.

To date, over 750,000 online movie ticket purchasers have opted to participate in the MAB program, with an average of an additional 20,000 MovieTickets.com users from across the country doing so each week. The sheer scale of the MAB will allow Nielsen Entertainment and MovieTickets.com to develop multiple research tools. The possibilities include use of proprietary technology to passively track sources of information and online behavior leading up to purchases; conversion rates for ticketing transactions matched with qualitative survey responses; a new advertising effectiveness tool; a new exit tool; and the ability to put research results in the context of benchmarks and client defined norms collected by Nielsen companies over the past thirty years.

With approximately 83% of 167 million American moviegoers now capable of accessing the Internet, and more than 76% of American households having made an online purchase, the Web is an established source of information for entertainment consumers, and subsequently a choice destination to expeditiously purchase advance movie tickets. The medium is assuming a significant role as a source of movie information for many moviegoers -- the top 25 movie websites attracted over 90 million unique visitors during November 2005, according to Nielsen Net Ratings. Among MAB participants to date, nearly 70% report having gone to a movie in a theater at least 10 times in the past year. This beats the average of 6-7 times for the last 3 years and the average of 8 times in prior years, according to a recent Nielsen Entertainment NRG Benchmarking Study.

MAB operations will be co-managed by Adrienne Becker, general manager of Nielsen Entertainment's Strategic Development Group, and by Gary Hiller, President of MovieTickets.com's Research Division. The MAB will leverage Ms. Becker's operational purview across multiple Nielsen businesses as well as Mr. Hiller's experience as the former President and CEO of StudioSystems, Inc., a leading provider of well-known, professional project management tools and information services used widely throughout the film and television industries.

"Coupling MovieTickets.com technology and customer relationship expertise with Nielsen Entertainment's market leading research services is an extraordinary opportunity to furnish the movie industry with must have knowledge during critical junctures facing the motion picture industry," said Mitch Rubenstein, Co-CEO, MovieTickets.com. "Together, we can harness the most influential audience for movies today to equip creators and marketers with first-ever access to consumer insight through the decisive phases of film launches. As a result of MAB, our relationship can guide the future development, production, marketing and distribution of entertainment content, both on and off screen."

"For the first time, Nielsen will be talking to moviegoers at the point of sale, able to monitor their assessments as to why they chose the movie and how they liked it. The partnership will permit new insights into triggers of the moviegoing decision, the resulting movie experience, and patterns of movie consumption, amplifying the vital statistics of an industry undergoing change," said Ms. Becker.

"MAB is more unique and valuable than a simple online panel of moviegoers," added Mr. Hiller. "It is a community of discriminating, transaction disposed, early adopting, entertainment consumers, with options on where and how to consume entertainment products. Members of this community are responsible for the historic and significant evolutionary changes in entertainment consumption we have seen over the past two years. Through them, we will be able to provide crucial, actionable information to entertainment industry decision makers."

About Nielsen Entertainment

Nielsen Entertainment was formed in 2003 to bring together the best individuals, methodological practices and data collection resources across the world. Through custom research, consulting and the most comprehensive network of entertainment measurement systems, Nielsen Entertainment delivers Actionable Entertainment Intelligence to clients engaged in the business of selling entertainment and trading in the marketplace of our popular culture.

Nielsen Entertainment's AEI products give clients unrivaled perspective from which to steer business decisions, providing the measure and the motivation in one package; comparing what the consumer says they do and what they actually do, in any given environment including film, television, music, books, and interactive media, and in adherence to the most rigorous research standards, established by Nielsen companies through the years.

Nielsen Entertainment is comprised of the following businesses: National Research Group (NRG), Independent (NRGi), EDI and EDI International, Television Services, SoundScan, Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), Music Control, VideoScan, Market Navigator, Mobile, Live Events, BookScan, BookData, and Interactive Entertainment, and utilizes the full portfolio of sister companies including Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Net Ratings to deliver a whole media point of view. Nielsen Entertainment is part of VNU (http://www.vnu.com/), a global leader in information services for the media and entertainment industries.

About MovieTickets.com

MovieTickets.com, the most powerful Internet movie ticketing service, provides consumers with the ease of a virtual box office from the convenience of their home or office. Formed in spring 2000, MovieTickets.com is a joint venture between AMC Entertainment, Hollywood Media Corp. (NASDAQ:HOLL), National Amusements, Famous Players, Marcus Theatres (NYSE:MCS), Viacom (NYSE:VIA), and America Online, and leverages the collective exhibitor expertise to deliver consumers a premium movie ticketing experience. MovieTickets.com enables consumers to buy tickets online for movie screens across the United States and Canada, and in the U.K. Its elite collection of partner theaters consistently represents over 50% of the top 50 and over 50% of the top 100 grossing theaters in North America on any given weekend.

MovieTickets.com exhibitors currently include:

Access Digital Theatres, All Star Entertainment, AMC Theatres, Ashbrie Cinemas, Atlantic Theaters, Atlas Cinemas, Baederwood Movie Theatre Co., Brooklyn Academy of Music, Bryn Mawr Movie Theatre Co., Camera Cinemas, Celebrity Theatres, Channelside Cinemas, Cinema Centers, Cinema Four-Quad, Cinemagic Movies, Cinemall, Classic Cinemas, Clearview Cinemas, Consolidated Theatres, Cornelius Cinemas, Crown Theatres, Dickinson Theatres, Eastern Shores, Emagine Entertainment, Entertainment Retail (Hollywood Hits), Famous Players, Film Forum, Greater Huntington Theatres, Greenville Cinemas, Hallett Cinemas, Harkins Theatres, Hollywood Premier Cinemas, Hoyts Cinemas, IFC Center, Kew Gardens (Cobble Hill), Krikorian Premiere Theatres, Landmark Theatres, Malco Theatres, Mann Theatres, Marco Movies, Marcus Theatres, Marquee Cinemas, Metropolitan Theatres, MJR Theatres, Narberth Theatre, National Amusements, , Omniplex Theatre Group, O'Neil Theatres, Pacific Theatres, Paris Theater, Phoenix Theatres, Pickwick Theatres, Rave Motion Pictures, Reading Cinemas USA (City Cinemas), Ritz Theatres, Riviera Cinemas, Rocky Mountain Cinemas, Roxy Theatres, Santikos Theaters, Sayville Theatre, Sea Turtle Cinemas, Spotlight Theatres, Studio Movie Grill, UltraStar Cinemas, Watson Theatre, and Westates Theatres.

Source: MovieTickets.com; Nielsen Entertainment

CONTACT: Davina Harilela of Nielsen Entertainment, +1-323-817-1958,
corpcomm@nielsenentertainment.com; or Melissa Zukerman, +1-310-407-0361,
melissa@zukermanpr.com, for MovieTickets.com

Web site: http://www.movietickets.com/
http://www.vnu.com/

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