National CineMedia has completed a $275 million acquisition of Captivate Holdings, giving the movie-theater advertising company a major presence on digital screens in offices, residential properties, lobbies and elevators.
The transaction marks a significant expansion beyond cinemas for National CineMedia, which works with AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal to provide pre-show commercial content. Led by chief executive Thomas Lesinski, the company now plans to apply its advertising model to the screens Captivate operates in spaces where people work, live and pass through each day.
Captivate powers tens of thousands of small screens that carry short advertisements and other content. With Captivate’s platform included, National CineMedia says it will have a network of 48,000 digital screens.
National CineMedia already had experience with advertising away from the auditorium through its movie-theater lobby displays. According to its annual report, the company had 17,000 screens across more than 1,300 theaters. The Captivate deal substantially broadens that reach into office buildings and residential locations.
Taking the Theater Formula Into New Spaces
Inside cinemas, National CineMedia’s primary advertising product is the Noovie pre-show. Hosted by former Today correspondent Maria Menounos, the presentation combines commercials with movie trivia, celebrity interviews in the style of press junkets and segments revisiting moments from Hollywood’s past.
The Captivate purchase gives the company another outlet for short-form advertising and content, but in settings far removed from the traditional moviegoing experience. Its new inventory includes screens seen by people moving through building lobbies or waiting in elevators.
Lesinski described the acquisition as an important part of National CineMedia’s effort to establish a wider advertising business.
“The acquisition of Captivate is a key step in advancing NCM’s strategy to build a broader premium video and digital out-of-home advertising platform,” he said Monday.
The company acquired Captivate from growth equity firm Generation Partners. Generation Partners had owned the platform since 2013, when it purchased Captivate from newspaper company Gannett.
A Broader Rebuilding Strategy
The deal arrives as National CineMedia continues rebuilding following its emergence from bankruptcy in 2023. The COVID years were especially damaging for movie theaters and also disrupted the in-theater advertising business that depends on those venues.
Captivate is not the company’s first acquisition since that restructuring. Last November, National CineMedia spent $8.2 million to purchase Spotlight Cinema Network, an advertising network serving boutique, luxury and drive-in theaters. Its clients include Cinépolis Luxury Cinema and Landmark Theatres, among others.
The restructured National CineMedia was originally launched and co-owned by major theater chains as a joint venture. In its annual report, however, the company disclosed that AMC and Cinemark no longer held ownership interests as of the beginning of this year.
While National CineMedia continues to work with AMC, Cinemark and Regal on pre-show advertising, the Captivate transaction represents its clearest move yet to develop a national advertising footprint beyond theater properties.
The expansion also brings new debt. National CineMedia is taking on a $275 million senior secured first lien term loan facility as it pursues the broader strategy.
What Happens Next?
With the transaction completed, National CineMedia’s immediate priority is integrating Captivate’s platform with its existing advertising operations and pursuing opportunities across the enlarged network.
“With the transaction now closed, our focus turns to bringing these capabilities together and executing on the opportunities we see across the combined business,” Lesinski said.
The company’s next phase will therefore span both its established cinema network and Captivate’s screens in offices, elevators, lobbies and residential properties, creating a larger digital advertising platform built around audiences encountered both at the movies and in everyday building spaces.