Fandango Acquiring MovieTickets.com

13 Oct, 2017 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Consolidation of online ticket companies comes as rival subscription ticket business model gains traction

Fandango Oct. 13 announced an agreement to acquire MovieTickets.com — joining Fandango, Flixster, Ingresso and Fandango Latin America to create a suite of global movie ticketing properties. Financial details were not disclosed. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter.

MovieTickets.com will further Fandango’s strategy of nationwide coverage. Once completed, the transaction will bring to Fandango’s ticketing network new exhibitors, including National Amusements (which owns Viacom and CBS), Cineplex, Landmark Theatres and Marquee Cinemas, in addition to independent theater chains.

It will also expand the company’s footprint in Latin America, and establish a ticketing presence in Canada and the United Kingdom for the first time. After the acquisition is complete, MovieTickets.com will continue to operate from its headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla.

“We look forward to sharing an array of mobile and social media innovations with their customer base to enhance the movie discovery, planning and ticket buying experience,” Paul Yanover, president of Fandango, said in a statement.

Fandango continues to pioneer new movie search software and ticketing for mobile, social and voice recognition platforms. These platforms enable moviegoers to use Fandango to discover movies, access showtimes and buy tickets.

The company also incorporated digital payment platforms Apple Pay, Android Pay, PayPal, Visa Checkout and Masterpass. It wasn’t immediately clear if MovieTickets.com will include links and cross-promotions with Fandango Now, the transactional movie service.

The acquisition comes as separate service, MoviePass, enables subscribers to watch a theatrical movie daily for $9.95 per month. The service, headed by former Netflix/Redbox executive Mitch Lowe, last month announced it had reached 400,000 subscribers.

 

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