Nielsen queries.

VNU Inc.'s Los Angeles-based Nielsen Entertainment group and MovieTickets.com have teamed up to offer Nielsen's entertainment industry and consumer goods clients access to the views of MovieTicket's desirable demographic.

Formed in 2000, MovieTickets.com is a joint venture of AMC Entertainment Inc., Viacom Inc., America Online and others that allows tech-savvy moviegoers the ability to purchase tickets online, access reviews and get other information.

Now, more than 750,000 online movie ticket purchasers have opted to participate in what is being called a Movie Advisory Board, which gives Nielsen's market researchers the ability to ask questions both at the point of sale and after the customer has seen the film.

"People are evaluating how they spend every last leisure dollar and every last minute of leisure time, so what they have to say is of great interest of creators and distributors of creative content," said Adrienne Becker, general manager of Nielsen Entertainment's Strategic Development Group.

"There are a lot of factors that are pulling people from one form of entertainment to another, from one platform to another and that makes it increasingly important that we understand why they are making the choices they do," she said.

Nearly 70 percent of panel participants report having gone to a movie in a theater at least 10 times in the past year, compared to an average of six or seven times for the last three years in other populations Nielsen has surveyed.

"We've found it's been pretty easy to recruit people," said Becker. "People really like talking about the movies. And this is a demo that really likes going to the movies."

Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached at [phone], ext. 232, or at [e-mail].