• by Fern Siegel , October 14, 2010

Shamrock Capital has completed its acquisition of Screenvision, a leading cinema advertiser. Shamrock bought a majority share in the company; Carmike Cinemas, a movie exhibitor, is a minority shareholder. Shamrock also appointed Travis Reid as Screenvision's new CEO.

Prior to joining Screenvision, Reid was CEO of Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, collectively owned by AMC Entertainment, Regal Entertainment Group and Cinemark Holdings. Prior to DCIP, Mr. Reid was president/CEO of Loews Cineplex Entertainment, which was acquired by AMC Entertainment in 2005.

The Screenvision cinema ad network is comprised of over 15,000 screens in 2,500 venues, covering all 50 states and 93% of DMAs nationwide.

Last year, total cinema ad revenues grew 2%, from $571.5 million in 2008 to $584 million in 2009 -- a modest gain, but impressive compared to steep drops in print and broadcast last year.

Total cinema ad revenues trended up by double-digit percentages in the first half of 2010.

Reid, who signed Screenvision's first long-term exhibitor ad agreement at Loews, says he is joining "an inventive and driven team [which] has grown the business consistently throughout the years, yet the biggest opportunities are in front of us."

Screenvision has more than 150 theater circuits through 10 of the top 15 exhibitor companies. As a dominant player in the cinema OOH market, it claims over 4,000 advertising clients.