• Village Roadshow Limited
• Website: www.villageroadshow.com.au

Industry:

Media

Fiscal Year-End:

Jun 10

VRL is an entertainment, leisure and tourism group. The company operates Village and other cinema complexes in Australia, Asia and Europe. VRL also owns approximately 60% of the separately listed Austereo Group Ltd. Through Austereo, VRL operates the radio networks Triple M and Today. In addition, VRL handles the distribution of movie titles, is an increasingly significant producer of movies, and also manages three Gold Coast theme parks. It also owns Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park in Hawaii.

VRL commenced in 1954 with the opening of one of the first drive-in cinemas in Australia in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon. The company expanded with further drive-ins and also traditional cinemas. VRL also diversified into film distribution in the 1960s, film production in the 70s, development of multiplex cinema complexes in the 80s and into theme parks and radio in the 90s. The company undertook a "back door" listing on the ASX through De Laurentis Entertainment Limited in 1989.

VRL operates core businesses in cinema exhibition, film production and distribution, radio and theme parks. While creating diverse earnings streams, these businesses are also complementary, targeting a similar customer demographic (under 40 years old) and providing cross-promotional opportunities.

VRL is recognised as a leading cinema exhibitor in Australia but also is the controlling shareholder in Austereo which owns and operates the country`s premier FM radio networks, Triple M FM and Today FM. VRL also operates Australia`s most popular theme parks; Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

VRL’s major customers are those people who go to the movies or visit theme parks in Australia, and companies looking to place advertisements on the group’s radio network. VRL has many competitors, including Greater Union and Hoyts (against Village), Australian Radio Network and Nova (against Austereo), any number of other iconic tourist attractions in Australia (against theme parks) and the major movie studios such as Sony, Fox, etc (against Village Roadshow Films).