• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 6, 2012

Cinema advertisers had a mediocre second quarter, with National CineMedia, the largest cinema ad network in the U.S., seeing total revenues slip 3.4% from $114 million in the second quarter of 2011 to $110 million in the second quarter of 2012, per the company.
 
The revenue decline was due mostly to a 43% drop in revenue from NCM’s Fathom Events to $8.8 million. In its core cinema advertising business NCM said total ad revenue actually increased slightly, with a 2.7% bump from $98 million to $101 million; for the first six months of the year, total ad revenue was up 6.3% to almost $167 million.
 
Looking ahead, the company expects a strong third quarter, with revenue growing 4% to 8% compared to the same period in 2011, within a range from $141 million to $147 million.

For the full year, NCM forecasts total revenues of $460 million-$470 million, up 6%-8% from 2011’s $435.4 million.
 
The company’s third-quarter results will get a boost from Samsung’s new cinema advertising campaign for the Galaxy S III -- rumored to be the biggest cinema advertising campaign ever executed, with a budget north of $20 million, including a first-of-its-kind 3D interactive crowd motion game designed by Audience Entertainment.
 
No word yet whether any clients are reconsidering cinema ad buys following the tragic shooting deaths of 12 theater-goers in Colorado on July 20, which prompted some advertisers (including the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns) to cancel some TV ads in the Colorado area.