3.2
Commercial relationships between exhibitors and the public: the ticket
price
Tariff policy by country
To determine the price of a ticket it is usual to divide revenues reported
by exhibitors for tax purposes by the number of admissions. At the same
time, the uncertainties surrounding the ticket price in certain southern
European countries have to be taken into account. In Greece and Portugal
estimating the number of admissions is difficult, because failure by exhibitors
to report grosses to distributors and difficulties in counting admissions
(particularly for open-air cinemas). We emphasise, however, that the results
of our quantitative survey corresponded to those provided by official bodies,
and by the various exhibitors' Associations (see Figure
18).
The ticket price varies significantly throughout the EU. It averages
at 4.00 ECU (see Table 19 below). However, it is
only 2.63 ECU in Portugal but is twice as high in the Netherlands, where
it is 5.51 ECU. Adjusting for purchasing power parity in the different
countries, the differences remain, and this calculation does not significantly
modify the hierarchy of ticket prices (see Figure 17).
The cinema, therefore, is an expensive leisure pursuit in the Netherlands
and France, less expensive in Italy and the UK in relation to local disposable
income and, at the other end of the scale, in Spain, Portugal and Greece,
the price is lowest. It is difficult to identify the reasons for such a
range, as so many factors effect it: price regulation; level of modernisation,
the progressive disappearance of second-run cinemas, etc. And as we have
already suggested, the ticket price and a policy of adjusting the ticket
price could have an influence on the number of admissions.
A linear correlation between the ticket price and the level of admissions
is not always evident. The lowest numbers of admissions per head of population
are recorded in countries where the ticket price is highest (e.g. the Netherlands)
as well as the lowest (Portugal, Greece). It is interesting to note that
in the two latter countries marketing policies are at their least sophisticated:
discounted prices are rarely offered here, and there is no concerted policy
in the sector for stimulating attendance at national level (like, for example,
establishing a day with reduced prices, or organising action for promotion
and enlivening the cinemas).
Tariff policy by type of
exhibition
The EU survey confirms that the cinemas owned by the circuits charge
the highest prices (4.3 ECU average) and the municipal cinemas and associates
the lowest price (3.4 ECU). On average, price levels are higher in the
middle-sized towns than they are in the big cities or the less populated
areas.