National Media Museum

What National Media Museum does

The National Science and Media Museum is a single-site public museum in Bradford, United Kingdom, founded in 1983 as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, rebranded to the National Media Museum in 2007 and to its current name in 2017. It operates as an exempt charity under Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is a constituent site of the Science Museum Group, alongside the Science Museum (London), the Science and Industry Museum (Manchester), the National Railway Museum (York), and Locomotion (Shildon). The institution serves families, school groups, researchers, film enthusiasts, and corporate clients through a portfolio of permanent galleries (Wonderlab, Sound and Vision, Kodak Gallery, Power Up), three cinema venues (Pictureville Cinema with 300 seats, IMAX Theatre with a 52ft screen — Britain's first, opened 1983 — and Cubby Broccoli Cinema with 100 seats), an Insight: Collections and Research Centre, online platforms (Collection Online, Wonderlab+), a retail shop, educational programming, and venue hire services.

The museum's core technology stack comprises a collection management system supporting a searchable online database of over 325,000 objects and archives from the Science Museum Group, IMAX digital projection with 3D capability, and multi-format cinema projection including Cinerama (the only public cinema in the UK equipped to screen this format), 35mm, 16mm, and digital. The collection itself constitutes the principal asset: over 3 million items including the world's earliest known surviving photographic negative, the earliest television footage, and the camera that made the earliest moving pictures in Britain, alongside the Daily Herald Archive, the Kodak Collection, and the William Henry Fox Talbot Collection. The museum is anchored in Bradford's designation as the world's first UNESCO City of Film (2009), a non-replicable institutional advantage.

Revenue is generated through six streams: free museum admission supplemented by voluntary donations (contactless points and online portal), cinema ticketing (Pictureville from £9, IMAX from £12.50), subscription-based cinema membership across three tiers, venue hire (corporate events, weddings, conferences across cinema and gallery spaces), educational programmes for school groups, retail through an on-site and online shop, and corporate sponsorship / trust and foundation fundraising. Pricing is freemium at the museum layer with unit pricing on cinema and venue services. The museum is governed by a Board of Trustees under the Science Museum and managed by a Senior Management Team led by Director Jo Quinton-Tulloch, with an Advisory Board providing sector-specific guidance from academia, media (Channel 4, BBC), and technology.

Name

National Media Museum

Legal name

National Science and Media Museum

Website

https://scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The National Science and Media Museum is a UK charity and Science Museum Group site in Bradford that operates permanent galleries, three cinemas (IMAX, Pictureville, Cubby Broccoli), research facilities, and educational programmes, serving families, schools, researchers, film enthusiasts, and corporate clients across the Yorkshire region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum and Cultural Institution Services

NAICS

Museums (71211), Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF), Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF)

Keywords

• Interactive science museum
• Cinema and IMAX
• Cultural heritage exhibits
• Educational school visits
• Venue hire events

Headquarters

HQ city

Bradford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The museum is a charity relying on visitor donations, corporate sponsorship, major gifts, trust and foundation support, and legacy bequests. One-off and monthly donation options available.
2. Cinema Operations: Revenue from Pictureville Cinema ticket sales (including IMAX screenings) and membership schemes. Pictureville tickets from £9, IMAX from £12.50.
3. Venue Hire: Corporate events, private screenings, weddings, and conferences utilizing museum spaces including Pictureville Cinema (capacity 300), Foyer, Cubby Broccoli Cinema (capacity 100), Wonderlab, and Kodak Gallery.
4. Retail Shop: On-site and online shop selling gifts, games, and books inspired by collection and exhibitions.
5. Corporate Sponsorship: Partnerships with businesses for corporate sponsorship of exhibitions and programs.
6. Educational Programs: Fee-based educational visits, workshops, and curriculum-linked shows for school groups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The National Media Museum operates a free-admission museum with permanent interactive galleries exploring image and sound technologies, complemented by three cinema venues (Pictureville, IMAX, Cubby Broccoli), a research centre, educational programmes for schools, venue hire, and an online shop. It also offers membership programmes and relies on donations and corporate sponsorship as a charity.

Product overview

The National Science and Media Museum is a single-site museum offering a unified portfolio of physical and digital experiences centred on image and sound technologies. The museum operates permanent galleries (Wonderlab, Sound and Vision, Kodak Gallery, Power Up), three cinema venues (Pictureville Cinema, IMAX Theatre, Cubby Broccoli Cinema), online platforms (Wonderlab+, Collection Online), research facilities (Insight), and a rotating programme of temporary exhibitions (currently Setting the Stage: 70 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest) and festivals (Widescreen Weekend, Yorkshire Games Festival). Educational services, venue hire, and school visit programmes complement the public offer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pictureville Cinema: Yorkshire's biggest independent cinema showing new releases, arthouse films, and family favourites across two immersive screens plus IMAX.
• IMAX Bradford
• Wonderlab
• Wonderlab+
• Insight: Collections and Research Centre
• Museum Explorer Backpacks
• Sensory Bags

Products and services

• Wonderlab Interactive permanent gallery with more than 20 stations where visitors explore the science of light and sound through hands-on exhibits, targeting families and school groups.
• Sound and Vision Permanent gallery across two floors covering the past, present and future of media technologies including film, television, radio, animation, gaming and sound technologies.
• Kodak Gallery Permanent gallery charting the history of photography with 19th-century portrait studios, hundreds of collection objects, and the world's first moving colour film.
• Power Up Interactive permanent gaming experience spanning the entire history of video games, from retro arcade to modern console.
• Pictureville Cinema Yorkshire's biggest independent cinema showing new releases, arthouse films and family favourites across two immersive screens, with a 300-seat auditorium and the UK's only public Cinerama capability.
• IMAX Theatre 52ft-tall IMAX screen, the biggest in the region and the first IMAX to open in Britain, featuring state-of-the-art digital projection and 3D capabilities.
• Cubby Broccoli Cinema

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5 million visitors annually across Science Museum Group
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Science Museum GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization comprising Science Museum (London), Science and Industry Museum (Manchester), National Railway Museum (York), and Locomotion (Shildon). World's leading group of science museums sharing unparalleled collection with millions of visitors annually.
• BFI (British Film Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational film and television charity supporting film culture. May provide programming support and funding for cinema screenings.
• BBCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBC tri-media studio opened at museum in 2003 enabling visitors to watch journalists gather and produce material for local and national TV and radio.
• Art FundminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTrust supporting museum acquisitions and exhibitions.
• The National Lottery Heritage FundminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor funder supporting museum projects and exhibitions.
• Film Hub NorthminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFilm distribution network supporting cinema screenings and events.
• City of Bradford Metropolitan District CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partner supporting museum operations and Bradford's cultural initiatives.
• Bradford 2025 UK City of CultureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting cultural programming for Bradford's UK City of Culture designation.
• University of BradfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for research collaborations and educational programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves23 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Science Museum (London): Flagship museum of the same Science Museum Group, sharing collections, governance, and back-office. Directly comparable as a UK science/technology museum with paid exhibitions and educational programming.
• Museum of Science and Industry (Manchester): Sister museum in the Science Museum Group, focused on science, technology, and industry in the North of England. Highly comparable in regional tourism model, free admission, and educational programming.
• BFI Southbank (British Film Institute): National film and television institution combining curated cinema programming, repertory screenings, and collections — overlapping with the National Science and Media Museum's film exhibition and educational remit. Already a listed partner.
• Museum of the Moving Image (New York): New York-based museum dedicated to the art, history, and technology of film, television, and digital media. Closest international peer in concept, combining interactive exhibitions, cinema, and educational programming.
• Cinémathèque française: Paris-based film museum and cinematheque combining archive, exhibitions, and repertory cinema. Strongly comparable in combining film heritage, cinemas, and educational programming.
• Deutsches Filmmuseum (Frankfurt): German film museum combining permanent exhibitions on film technology with curated cinema programming. Closest European peer in the photography/film/media museum category.

Broad incumbents

• Picturehouse Cinemas: UK independent cinema chain with repertory, arthouse, and event programming. Comparable on the cinema operations side (Pictureville branded offering) though focused on commercial exhibition rather than museum curation.
• Tate Modern: Major UK national museum with free admission, large visitor base, venue hire, and major temporary exhibitions. Comparable in scale, funding model, and visitor experience inside the UK cultural sector.
• Natural History Museum (London): UK national museum with free admission, major collections, educational programming, and venue hire. Comparable in operating model, public funding structure, and visitor scale, though focused on natural history rather than media/science.

Others

• IMAX Corporation: Operator of IMAX cinema networks globally and supplier of projection technology to institutional screens. Comparable as the underlying technology platform and content pipeline that the NSMM's IMAX relies on rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mediamuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/nationalmediamuseum
• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalmediamuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-media-museum
• Instagraminstagram.com/mediamuseum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Media Museum