Screenvision Pacts With Kidtoon
By Katy Bachman

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/tvstations/article_
display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001261768


October 06, 2005 - Cinema advertising rep firm Screenvision is bringing cartoons back to theaters through a deal with Kidtoon Films, a national distributor of new G-rated programming, the company announced Thursday.

Using Screenvision's high-definition screen ad network, Kidtoons will provide theaters with feature-length G-rated films to deliver matinee offerings to families at affordable prices. Currently only 3 percent of theatrical releases are G-rated.

Screenvision, which sells cinema advertising on more than half of the nation's movie screens, sees the inititive as a way to stimulate higher attendance in theaters where it is rolling out its high-definition screen technology. The cinema rep firm currently has 1,000 high-definition screens installed and is adding about 30 a month with plans to hit 5,000 screens by the close of 2006.

"Exhibitors are able to offer a valuable new entertainment service to their respective communities and gain a new form of revenue in the process. Targeted audiences, like young children and their parents, gain access to additional high-quality entertainment offerings from their local cinema; content producers gain a compelling new market for their product," said Matthew Kearney, CEO for Screenvision.

Although no advertising will run on the screens, advertisers will be able to tap into the event by providing product samples for kids.

"Movie matinees can once again be a place where kids and families can plan to gather on a weekly basis," said Greg Rutkowski, co-CEO for Kidtoon Films.

Initial titles to be offered via the partnership include Tom & Jerry in The Fast and the Fury, produced by Warner Bros. Animation; My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas, produced by Hasbro, Inc. and SD Entertainment; Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy, produced by Warner Bros. Animation; and Make Way for Noddy Christmas, produced by Chorion and SD Entertainment.

Screenvision plans to extend its content portfolio over the next year to offer music concerts, special late-night programming such as comedy events, and other programming designed to appeal to targeted audiences during off-peak movie hours.