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Take Me Out to the Ballgame... at the Cineplex

Movie theaters boost lagging ticket sales with live broadcasts

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Mar 23, 2008 2:52 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Cineplexes are boosting stagnant sales by showing more live broadcasts, the New York Times reports. From the Metropolitan Opera to the Mets, high-def feeds are luring fans for less than the price of a live concert or ball game. "We can now replicate Carnegie Hall across the country," an exec at Screenvision said.

Film audiences rose by 1% in 2007, after stagnating in 2006 and declining the previous 3 years. Cineplexes rented out auditoriums for meetings to compensate, but the advent of digital projectors and 3-D are making live broadcasts possible. "Live simulcasts of sporting events won't displace the first week of Harry Potter, but they might displace the fifth," said the CEO of Landmark Theaters.

The heyday of the drive-in may be over, but companies are finding new ways to redefine what it means to go to the movies.
The heyday of the drive-in may be over, but companies are finding new ways to redefine what it means to go to the movies.   (Shutterstock)
The rise of digital projectors and 3-D technology is redefining movie-going for the average American.
The rise of digital projectors and 3-D technology is redefining movie-going for the average American.   (Shutterstock)
Cineplexes across the US are beginning to broadcast live sporting and cultural events, as well as YV marathons and and seasonal events, using digital projectors to boost shrinking movie audiences.
Cineplexes across the US are beginning to broadcast live sporting and cultural events, as well as YV marathons and and seasonal events, using digital projectors to boost shrinking movie audiences.   (Shutterstock)
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3D • audiences • cinema • movie theaters • cineplex • Carnegie Hall • simulcast • live broadcasts

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