January 7, 2004

Volume 2, Issue 25

Canucks Hit The Big Screen

Vancouver develops new revenue stream by showing PPV games at movie theatres

Only Three Weeks Away!

We're only three weeks away from the 2004 National Sports Forum, to be held January 26-28, 2004, in Greater Chicago! Come join literally hundreds of team, league and corporate executives at the largest cross-team sports sales and marketing conference in North America. If you haven't registered yet, you can still do so by calling Dave Mullins at 619.469.4101 ext. 204 or by logging on to www.sports-forum.com.

If you like Selling It..., you'll LOVE the Forum!

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Contact: Chris Hebb, Vice President of Broadcast & New Media - 604-899-7467 [email protected]

Team: Vancouver Canucks

Program Title: Canucks PPV at Theatres

Objective: There are three main objectives for this program:

To make the Canucks PPV games available to a larger audience To increase team's non-traditional revenue To provide a unique venue for fans of all ages to enjoy Canuck's hockey

Last season, Landmark Theatres showed nine of the team's PPV games in three locations throughout the Province.  This year, the team plans to broadcast all 17 PPV games at movie theatres!

A ticket to the theater to watch a game costs around $8.50. The Canucks have deals with both theatres for a percentage of the gate, which is close to a 50/50 split.

Media: The Canucks advertise the PPV games at the arena during games, in their print ads and on the team's website.  Landmark Cinemas also advertises the showing of the games in their local newspaper ads. 

Partner: Both Landmark and Famous Theatres are benefiting from this partnership because they are looking at it as a unique source of branding as well as a way to generate incremental revenue through concession sales. They both use in-theatre promos and advertisements of the PPV games to increase awareness of movie watchers inside their theatres.

Results: Although the program is only in its second year, the Canucks have successfully created a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" type atmosphere, with fans actually wearing their Canucks gear to the theatre! All nine games shown last season were sold out with the more popular ones being sold out three to four days prior to the game.  In its second year, the theatres are planning on showing all 17 PPV games and have already seen 280 seat auditoriums nearly filled to capacity.  This idea is starting to catch on in other parts of North America with the Boston Red Sox and Calgary Flames looking to implement similar programs in their cities.

Looking Ahead: Despite the obvious revenue potential, the Canucks view the showing of the games as a new and innovative way to make the product available to a wider audience. This is still an introductory product for both the theatres and the Canucks and the payment/revenue split, rather than a direct commercial buy, makes the venture a low risk to all involved. The Canucks are confident that as the number of PPV games shown increases, so to will the team's revenue.

& MANY MORE!  

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