OTX Expands Movie Tracking Service to Russia and China

OTX Expands Movie Tracking Service to Russia and China

New Weekly Study Gives Movie Marketers and Distributors First-Ever Measures for Growing Markets

LONDON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- OTX (Online Testing eXchange), a leading global consumer research and consulting firm, announced today the expansion of its movie tracking service to cover Russia and China. This service provides customers in these increasingly important regions with weekly reports on consumer awareness of and interest in feature film releases. OTX already offers its clients movie tracking services in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan and Australia.

The OTX International Film Tracking service is expanding to Russia and China to meet the growing research needs of these very important film markets. This will be the first such movie tracking service for each of these countries. Russia is one of the top 10 international markets for Hollywood films, with many analysts predicting it will soon break into the top 5 markets. Total box office revenue in Russia for 2006 reached $455 million, a 30% increase over the previous year. China began importing foreign films back in 1994. Total box office revenue in China for 2006 reached $341 million, with distributors forecasting box office hitting $460 million for 2007. Some distributors think it's possible for total box office in China to reach over $2.5 billion in 10 years.

OTX clients will use the service to evaluate their film's marketing campaigns up to five weeks prior to release. By evaluating the week-to-week trends and demographic shifts in the data that are reported in the OTX film tracking studies, studios are able to fine-tune strategies and/or change their marketing campaigns for any film being tracked. Tracking is also used as a gauge to understand what range of box-office revenue might be expected upon opening. Furthermore, OTX clients will also have the ability to add custom weekly private studies on tracking for advance long-lead "pulse checks" of their titles of interest.

"Our movies are worldwide brands unto themselves, and the more information we have from our key emerging global markets about moviegoer interest in seeing them, especially in the several weeks leading up to the opening weekend, the better we can position and market them," said Tomas Jegeus, Co- President of International Theatrical Distribution at 20th Century Fox. "We are very pleased that OTX will now be able to deliver this much-needed information."

The weekly international tracking study consists of a national sample of moviegoers in each territory, with a sample size three times larger than previous film industry trackers. For Russia, the new service will track all wide-release film titles, both local and US titles. In China, the new service will track both film and DVD releases.

Later this year OTX is expected to announce further expansion to its International Tracking markets with the additions of South Korea and Mexico.

In addition to traditional measures of Awareness, Interest and Choice, OTX Film Tracking studies also measure:

Buzz -- Are moviegoers talking about the film? Are their conversations positive, negative or neutral?

Familiarity -- More than just awareness, this measure examines how much the respondent knows about the film.

Definite Interest Intensity -- A measure that explores the "definite interest" response to further gauge how interested respondents really are in seeing a movie.

   Sources of Awareness -- What is exposing moviegoers to the title?    About OTX (Online Testing eXchange)  

OTX (Online Testing eXchange) is a global consumer research and consulting firm that has established itself as a leading provider of online-based research. The company specializes in providing innovative, cutting-edge online technology, products and analysis to the marketing, entertainment and advertising communities. OTX has developed the most innovative products available for online research today -- products that work to uncover deeper and more profound consumer insight. Today, the company is one of the fastest growing research companies in the United States and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Cincinnati, Miami, Chicago and London, with strategic partners in Japan, Australia, Russia and China.

   For more information contact:    In the UK & Europe    Ian Wright    iwright@otxresearch.com    +44 (0)20 7740 3568    In the USA    Robert Sant'anselmo    roberts@otxresearch.com    310.736.3438     Ajay Durani    adurani@otxresearch.com    212.886.5934  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: OTX

CONTACT: UK & Europe, Ian Wright, iwright@otxresearch.com,
+44 (0)20 7740 3568, or USA, Robert Sant'anselmo, roberts@otxresearch.com,
+1-310-736-3438, or, Ajay Durani, adurani@otxresearch.com, +1-212-886-5934,
all of OTX

Web site: http://www.otxresearch.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment