Two stories in the news focusing on the continued strength of the more than 400 independent theater owners as a force in the industry.

Friday, the Springdale Morning News in Arkansas profiled the new Blackhawk Theatre in Pea Ridge, a small but burgeoning town in the extreme northwest corner of the state.

Pea Ridge Mayor Jackie Crabtree thinks that's a wonderful idea.

"I think it is a great opportunity he is taking. He has done a lot of work on that building," Crabtree said.

Crabtree said Pea Ridge is a bedroom community that is growing like others in Benton County. Numerous businesses are opening up there, including several banks and fast-food outlets.

"We're about to hit the big time. We're about to get a McDonald's," Crabtree said with a laugh.

Today, the Knoxville News Sentinel takes a look at the growing number of independent theaters in East Tennessee. In addition to profiling five area independents, the story also checks in with a former independent theater owner who made it big. Really big. Mike Campbell.

Campbell started Regal Cinemas with a 50-year-old theater in Claiborne County in 1982.

“There still is a niche for independents,” Campbell said.

Regal does not have to compete with independents in too many markets, but when they do, independents can prove to be “significant competition,” Campbell said.

Movies on the Parkways' Todd Holt believes it's the independent owners' connection to the local community that is their greatest strength.

Movies on the Parkway, like the rest of East Tennessee’s independent theaters, all work to create a family-friendly atmosphere. Part of that means dealing with what Holt and his staff refer to as the “Middle School Mafia,” groups of unruly patrons who often send text messages to each other during the movies or create other distractions.

Holt believes the independent theater is more capable of catering to the local crowds than the large theater chains. Instead of someone sitting in a corporate office far away, he and his staff make the decisions and rules based on community personality.

“The staff is what makes me. Without them, I would be nothing.” Holt said.

One of the big hopes for digital cinema is the opportunity it provides for alternative content.  If it can be digitized, it can be shown in a digitally-equipped movie theater.

The L.A. Times takes a look at one of the early movers - Bigger Picture (a division of digital cinema aggregator AccessIT) - in what may prove to be an important source of revenue for theater owners.

The technology also enables theaters to easily switch what's being shown in a theater, opening venues up to specialized shows so they can sell tickets and popcorn when they aren't showing Hollywood's latest blockbusters. Although major studio movies attract big crowds on weekends, Dern said that over the course of a typical week auditoriums are often filled to only 10% to 15% of capacity.

"If we can move the dial 1%, that's a big number," Dern said.

Bigger Picture started three years ago, when Dern and Rutkowski came up with the "Kidtoons" animation programs. A typical program might include a G-rated feature, such as this spring's "Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Blossom Festival," plus cartoon shorts, music videos and singalongs.

Concerts, opera and sports have all taken a turn at the alternative content turnstile, with live theater simulcasts from New York's Metropolitan Opera proving a surprising success. Still, we're early in the exploration of just what sort of content will drive audiences to movie theaters in off-peak hours. As digital cinema grows and approaches a critical mass, well see a lot more companies looking to turn alternative digital content into a sustainable business.

Michael Karagosian, a Calabasas-based consultant to the theater industry, sees several challenges. Niche offerings may end up playing best in rural areas where access to concerts and other events is limited, he said, but prove a tough sell in cities.

Competition is heating up, he notes. National CineMedia, for example, a digital theater advertising company, distributes concerts and other events under its Fathom brand.

Still, Karagosian said, what Access is doing boosts the appeal of digital technology to exhibitors.

"Content will drive the business more than equipment," Karagosian said. "It's recurring revenue, and a company like Access IT is looking to sell razor blades, not just razors."