Cineplex has scored a deal to bring 鈥淪unday Night Football鈥� and the Super Bowl to its movie theatres.

The company said Friday that a three-year sponsorship agreement with the National Football League will begin Nov. 12 and be known as 鈥淣FL Sundays at Cineplex.鈥�

Games will be broadcast live to 15 VIP theatres and then expand to 50 locations for the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, 2018.

鈥淚t鈥檚 no different than when we started opera and some of the other things that we鈥檝e done to create and bring a different demographic, a different group of people, into our theatres,鈥� said Cineplex president Ellis Jacob, pointing to other sporting events the chain has featured, including NHL and NBA games, the Olympics, and UFC and WWE events.

Seven games leading up to the Super Bowl will be hosted in the adults-only VIP cinemas, which feature wider recliners and in-seat food and beverage service that includes beer, wine and spirits.

Jacob said it鈥檚 all part of Cineplex鈥檚 efforts to reinvent itself as 鈥渁n entertainment destination鈥� that is far more than just popcorn and Hollywood films.

Hence, a growing roster of 鈥渆vent-cinema鈥� offerings such as live opera and theatre broadcasts, as well as investments in the esports platform WorldGaming and various entertainment centres including the upcoming Topgolf venues, the eats-and-entertainment spot The Rec Room, and a relaunch of the Playdium arcades.

An especially weak summer in movie profits didn鈥檛 help the bottom line, Jacob acknowledged, calling it 鈥渁 hard year at the box office.鈥�

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 panic because we鈥檝e always had these cyclical events,鈥� said Jacob, predicting a bounce-back in the fourth quarter.

鈥淭his is part of our focus to try and balance that out over a period of time. Because as we鈥檝e seen with the Hollywood product, you鈥檝e got good periods and then you can basically run into some slow growth periods. (But) with the NFL, we are committing and getting three years worth of content so it鈥檚 not like I鈥檓 waiting for the next movie to come out.鈥�

NFL Canada鈥檚 managing director David Thomson also saw an opportunity to broaden the league鈥檚 audience, stating in a release that the partnership targets the next generation of fans, in part through online tournaments on Cineplex鈥檚 WorldGaming platform.

Tickets will be $5 and are available at participating VIP theatres in Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Vancouver.

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

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