City Screen Acquires Newman Software

City Screen, owner of the Picturehouse group of cinemas, has acquired Newman, the software business behind its box office and cinema management systems, from Arts Alliance Media.
City Screen has been a development partner since the inception of this uniquely web-based service, and the acquisition guarantees the continued development of the software to meet its ambition to be the best ticketing system in Europe.
City Screen will now broaden the team working on the software and focus on further developments to increase the sophistication of its customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities. There are also plans to introduce Newman to other cinema exhibitors around the world and other venues such as theatres and concert halls. Arts Alliance Media will continue a close partnership and will represent Newman alongside its other services to the industry.
Lyn Goleby, Managing Director of City Screen, said: "City Screen has used Newman's direct marketing capabilities as a very effective tool in the marketing of specialised film and alternative content, where distribution marketing budgets are often limited. We specialise in this marketplace, delivering consistently strong audiences through the bespoke marketing enabled by Newman. Our aim is to develop the system further and establish it as the CRM software of choice around Europe and the world for cinemas and other entertainment venues."
City Screen's programming subsidiary, City Screen Virtual, works closely with the Curzon group where Newman has been operating since 2005. Rob Kenny, Operations Manager of the Curzon group, commented: "The system has been very useful to us in developing the loyal customer base of our cinemas. We are looking forward to the further developments now promised through this acquisition."
Newman is currently used by independent cinemas and cinema groups across the UK and Norway. CEO of Oslo Kino, Geir Bergkastet, praised the development team of Newman and confirmed that his group had seen an immediate uplift in revenues since the installation in 2007 through the flexible ticket pricing which they have been able to introduce.
Gavin Conran moved across the Newman team from Arts Alliance Media to become City Screen's Head of Sales and Product Management. He commented: "We have had a unique partnership between our technology team and an end user that is now yielding significant results. Now as part of the City Screen group, we are able to understand and measure the uplift in results achieved through our solutions."
City Screen is the owner and operator of Picturehouse Cinemas and owns and operates 18 cinemas, as well as programming films for an additional 35 cinemas independently operated throughout the UK.
(KMcA/JM)