The UK Cinema Association has today invited expressions of interest from potential partners who might deliver data and analytical services to its members.

The exercise follows on the the Association’s member conference earlier in the year, Unlocking Data and Technology. This explored the benefits that data and analytics could provide to cinema operators in a range of areas including marketing, retail, programming and pricing.

Following discussions with members during the event and afterwards, the Association undertook an informal exercise to identify how many operators might be interested in being part of some joint arrangement with one or more providers in this area. This prompted positive (without commitment) responses from members accounting for over 100 sites and 300 screens, on the basis of which the Association has today developed launched today’s exercise.

Commenting on today’s announcement, UK Cinema Association Chief Executive Phil Clapp said:

“While our Spring conference prompted a great deal of interest in data and analytics amongst our members, a number – in particular those smaller operators – at the same time expressed concern about the potential costs involved and the capacity they had to engage in what can seem a dauntingly complex area.

Today’s announcement represents our attempt to bring together some kind of collective arrangement for interested members, which will provide appropriate services in what we hope will be a more straightforward way.”

Further details of the announcement can be found here.