Largest Cinema Advertising Network Won’t Run Political Ads In FirstLook
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
With the presidential election looming and TV ad spending on the 2016 races predicted to hit $4.4 billion, National CineMedia, the largest cinema advertising network in the U.S., has declared that its 1,600 movie theaters will be politics-free zones.
NCM’s FirstLook pre-show, seen on over 20,100 movie screens, and its Lobby Entertainment Network (LEN) in AMC, Cinemark, Regal Entertainment Groupand over 40 other leading affiliate theaters across the country, will not include ads for any political issues or candidates.
“There is no way to change the channel in a movie theater,” says Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing with NCM. “So we must respect the fact that people go to the movies to enjoy the FirstLook preshow and lose themselves in the magic of the movies, and we believe that it is important to honor this entertainment experience. That’s why the only politics you’ll see on the big screen are upcoming films with political plots.”
The move to forgo accepting political ads is significant. TV stations in key presidential markets, or markets hosting multiple races, often allocate significant advertising inventory to political candidates and issues. This not only causes more advertising clutter, but in some cases, a brand’s spot may even be bumped in favor of a higher-paying political advertiser.
“Political clutter and pre-emption are things that our advertising partners will never have to worry about in NCM’s FirstLook,” says Marks. “While we compete aggressively against other video platforms for ad dollars, making the decision to walk away from political spending is yet another thing that makes NCM exceptional. Brands can not only position themselves alongside the most exciting new movie content, but they can be sure that their message will be heard by a highly-engaged audience without the distraction and negativity of political ads surrounding their spot. And, NCM is the largest reach network on weekends, making cinema the perfect place for marketers to protect their brands from being associated with the negative messaging that will invade all other video networks this election season.”
Reaching over 700 million moviegoers annually, FirstLook’s average weekly audience translates to a Nielsen rating of over 7.0 in adults 18 to 49, making it one of the top 10 primetime shows in the U.S. every week. NCM’s FirstLook pre-show program showcases entertainment content from ABC Networks, A+E Television Networks, CBS Entertainment, Disney, Hasbro, Microsoft, NBC, Nintendo, Turner Broadcasting System, and Yahoo along with national, regional and local advertising. FirstLook is designed with the audience in mind, ending approximately at the advertised movie show time when the film trailers begin.
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