The captive audience, it seems, is no longer captive enough.

National CineMedia, the company that has spent two decades selling the attention of moviegoers during those pre-show minutes before the lights go down, has decided that office workers waiting for elevators deserve the same treatment. The firm announced on Tuesday that it had completed its acquisition of Captivate Holdings, which operates small screens in office building lobbies and elevators, for $275 million.

The deal represents a significant strategic pivot for National CineMedia, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2023 after the pandemic years proved nearly as brutal to in-theater advertising as they were to theaters themselves. The company, led by Thomas Lesinski, had been operating roughly 17,000 screens in more than 1,300 theaters; the Captivate acquisition adds 48,000 digital screens in commercial and residential properties.

For those unfamiliar with the company's core product, National CineMedia is responsible for Noovie, the pre-show entertainment hosted by Maria Menounos that fills the time between when you arrive at your seat and when the trailers begin. (Whether this constitutes a service or an imposition depends largely on how early you like to arrive.)

The expansion comes as National CineMedia finds itself increasingly independent of the theater chains that once owned it. The company disclosed in its annual report that AMC Entertainment and Cinemark Holdings no longer hold ownership stakes as of the beginning of this year — a notable shift for a venture that the chains themselves once launched jointly.

Mr. Lesinski described the acquisition as "a key step in advancing NCM's strategy to build a broader premium video and digital out-of-home advertising platform," which is the sort of sentence that means the company would like to sell ads in more places.

The deal was financed through a $275 million term loan, suggesting that National CineMedia is betting rather heavily that the future of advertising includes people who are waiting for things.

Original story published in The Hollywood Reporter: "Movie Theater Advertising Giant Closes $275 Million Deal to Expand to Offices"