New York – The Nokia Theater in Times Square will be renamed Best Buy Theater
next month under a multiyear naming rights agreement with owner AEG Live.
The 2,100-capacity venue, located within Viacom’s headquarters building
at 1515 Broadway, opened nearly five years ago as Nokia Theatre Times Square. Best
Buy will continue to host music concerts and special events there, but will
also create a Best Buy Lounge where it will showcase the latest technology
products and services via state-of-the-art interactive displays. Guests will
have an opportunity to download mobile content and enter promotions, among
other activities, and Best Buy’s production arm, Yellow Tag Productions, will also
produce theater-specific content to run inside and outside the location, which is
the retailer’s first entertainment venue.
“The Best Buy Theater underscores our continuing commitment to being a
leader in entertainment, and we are thrilled to partner with AEG Live to bring
our presence to the crossroads of the world — Times Square,” said Drew
Panayiotou, chief marketing officer for Best Buy’s U.S.-based operations. “Times
Square is at the center of media and entertainment, and both are central to our
brand so this venue is a great fit for us. We plan to utilize the theater as a
stage with key partners for the most exciting events and news happening in
consumer electronics.”
Best Buy Theater features state-of-the-art lighting, a JBL sound system, and
an 85-foot-long HD-LED marquee than can display digital video and live
broadcasts from the stage in real time. The
marquee is also directly connected to MTV’s Times Square studio on 44
th
Street.
The fall calendar includes concerts by Ingrid Michaelson, Gary Numan,
Cypress Hill, The Black Crowes and Paul Weller, and stints by comedian Jim
Gaffigan and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing Live.”
As the Nokia Theater, the 45,000-square-foot venue has hosted concerts by
Bon Jovi, John Legend, Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, Jay-Z, Sugarland, Prince, The
Eagles, Alicia Keys, and Phil Lesh & Friends, as well as special events
such as Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, Good Morning America concert
series performances by Janet Jackson and Usher, Bruce Springsteen’s Gateway
Schools Benefit, and the annual Heisman Trophy presentations.
