In-Theater Advertising Growth Decelerating

New data from the Cinema Advertising Council shows domestic in-theater ad growth decelerating. In-theater advertising grew 5.8% to $571 million in 2008, down sharply from the 5-year historical average of 24.5%. This is the slowest gain reported since in-theater advertising statistics started being recorded in 2002. So why the drop? Though I do not have the exact figures, I do know that domestic theater growth is no where near 24.5% annually. Historically, in-theater ad spending has grown disproportionately to new theater growth. This can only happen for so long until we reach the equilibrium where in-theater advertising maintains a grow rate closer to that of the theaters’. Though there is no question that in-theater advertising is one of the best ways to raise film awareness (CAC president and chairman David Kupiec says the recall rate is as much as 5 times greater), I believe that in-theater ad growth will continue to decelerate.

Download the Cinema Advertising Council’s 2009 Cinema Advertising Revenue Report

Below are the figures as reported by the Cinema Advertising Council