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Topic: Meet the Lone Loser in MoviePass Hitting 1 Million Members
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Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 02-09-2018 05:17 PM
I can see the handwriting on the wall now.... when MoviePass runs out of money, these idiots are going to BLAME THE THEATERS for it, since no theater will want to share its concession and film profits.
The more this story goes on, the less happy the ending looks.
MoviePass Tops 2 Million Subscribers While Cash Burn Accelerates
February 8, 2018, 3:00 PM MST
The pressure is on for Hollywood disruptor MoviePass.
The startup, which allows customers to watch one film a day in a theater for less than $10 a month, said on Thursday that it has passed 2 million subscribers. But the more members the company adds, the faster it burns cash, and MoviePass has already been warned by its accountants that its long-term viability is in question.
As MoviePass directs more movie fans to theaters, the question for the company is whether studios and exhibitors will agree to share revenue from ticket or popcorn sales. MoviePass said it has yanked its service from 10 AMC Entertainment theaters because the chain won’t cooperate, while Cinemark has already started its own subscription service.
“We’re giving people a reason to go back to the movie theaters, and they’re going in droves,” MoviePass Chief Executive Officer Mitch Lowe said in a statement. “With awards season here, we hope we can make Hollywood and exhibitors very happy by filling seats with eager audiences.”
The company, which is majority-owned by Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc., pays theaters full price for tickets, which can cost $10 apiece or more. MoviePass warned in an October regulatory filing that more frequent viewing by subscribers will lead to increasing losses and the need for more financing. The company plans to earn money by aggregating data on moviegoers’ habits, advertising and merchandise sold through its platform, and possibly by gaining a share of refreshment sales.
Lowe said via email on Wednesday that MoviePass bought $110 million worth of tickets in 2017, generating an additional $146 million in ticket sales, mostly through members bringing non-members to the films. MoviePass customers apparently have good taste.
“Roughly 50 percent of the tickets purchased were for Oscar-nominated films,” he said.
Bloomberg article
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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 02-10-2018 01:13 PM
All is not happy in MoviePassdom:
"Business Insider" article on some recent terminations of memberships for alleged TOS violations yet, according to the story, customers claim that they didn't do what they are being accused of. This is doubly concerning. Movie Pass refuses to review the claims to verify that the infractions occurred. If they didn't, in fact, occur, then Movie Pass' data is severely flawed. Since their revenue is supposed to come from their massive data collection, having flawed data would make it far less valuable for sale.
http://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-terminated-users-for-violating-terms-of-service-premium-tickets-2018-2
quote:
MoviePass terminated a 'small percentage' of its users for violating its terms of service — and people are freaking out
Jason Guerrasio
22h 18,124
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MoviePass confirmed to Business Insider that a "small percentage" of accounts were terminated due to users violating its terms of service.
People have taken to Twitter to object in very vocal terms.
On Friday, MoviePass terminated the accounts of what it described as a "small percentage" of users who violated its terms of service, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
This was a shock to many users, who took to social media to object to being taken off the service. Many of them said they were confused as to why their accounts were deleted.
Business Insider obtained an email that was sent out to members who MoviePass said violated its terms of service by purchasing part of a "premium ticket" on their card. However, multiple people who received the email denied they had ever done that.
Here's the email:
"Your account has been cancelled effective immediately for violating the terms of service by using your MoviePass card to purchase part of a premium ticket. You cannot sign back up for MoviePass."
Customers who then inquired via MoviePass' customer support account on Twitter were sent this via Direct Message:
"Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. Your account was cancelled due to Terms and Conditions violation. You should have received an email notifying you on this on February 09, 2018 with a description of the action that was in violation. Please remember to check your Spam or Junk folders for this email. Some email filters may prevent it from being delivered directly to your inbox. Terms and Conditions violations cannot be disputed nor can your account be reactivated. We appreciate your understanding."
Many took to Twitter to voice their frustration and confusion as to why they lost their accounts:
Kelsey R McCann
@kmacfotwen
@MoviePass_CS why was my acct cancelled w no notice for supposedly doing something I never did? I've reached out through the support portal but no one is responding. The email says I purchased part of a premium ticket with my moviepass card, that NEVER happened. Please advise
3:18 PM - Feb 9, 2018
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Abhishek Mangipudy
@mangipudy
@MoviePass @MoviePass_CS
Was my wife’s and my account were cancelled because I used “checkin if movie is missing”? There was no explanation apart from part of premium ticket purchase. I sent a DM on twitter, opened a ticket and started a chat but no response. Can you help??
1:59 PM - Feb 9, 2018
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@mitch__lowe my girlfriend and I love moviepass, she got an email this morning saying that her account has been cancelled for purchasing a premium ticket? I promise we have not been able to this great service. She can still log in and book, so maybe this was a mistake?
— Nick Wagner (@nickdean707) February 9, 2018
Paul Newton
@KneelBeforePaul
Hey @MoviePass you've already ruined my day. @MoviePass_CS please help me!
3:10 PM - Feb 9, 2018
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Prabhakar Singh
@singhprabhakar3
@MoviePass_CS My account was cancelled for false reason. I have raised ticket #1144917. Please help me asap
2:06 PM - Feb 9, 2018
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A MoviePass spokesperson sent the following statement to Business Insider regarding the canceling of accounts:
"A small percentage of MoviePass users have been removed from the system, due to violating the terms of service. We diligently review card transactions to prevent fraudulent activity and take our Terms of Service agreement very seriously. If individuals abuse the service, we must take action so that our model continues to be sustainable for everyone. If customers feel there has been a mistake, they can feel free to reach out to MoviePass customer service via the phone number on the back of their card."
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Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 02-10-2018 05:14 PM
You have the legal right to refuse service, as long as you're not discriminating.
There's also no law against being an asshole, so you do not even need to state a valid reason why you refuse service.
The difference here though is that service was given and a contractual framework (their terms of service) were agreed upon. In this case the service was terminated, because of alleged infringement upon those terms. If MoviePass terminated those agreements, because of false assumptions, then that's a breach of contract by MoviePass.
We're not talking about real damages for the subscriber though, he's only in it for $10 for the current month, so that's what's on the line.
But if you angry a sufficient number of customers this way, some of them might actually bring forward a class-action suit against MoviePass. Those can become pretty expensive for the receiving ends.
quote: Bloomberg article
MoviePass Tops 2 Million Subscribers While Cash Burn Accelerates
Hey, MoviePass. You could also just stop accepting new subscribers for a while, you might last a month or two longer with your cash.
Obviously, that's not the plan, just keep on burning until the bottom falls out or someone actually manages to get in a fresh truckload of dollar bills to feed the ever growing fire...
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Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 02-10-2018 07:52 PM
Most POS systems allow for some pretty complex rebate schemes, but I guess the deal for such a thing would be more like a general discount of e.g. 10% on all concession items.
Obviously, you could even advertise it on your menu for example. Flashing your MP card will become more obvious for those subscribers wanting to get the discount.
Giving the commission to MP for the sales under the discount policy also isn't that hard in most POS systems, as it should be pretty easy to extract the sales under a certain discount policy, report them to MP and wait for an invoice or write them a credit note...
For ticket sales it could be even simpler, they can simply send the participating theater an invoice, based on their own accounting.
Maybe if you're running a small-scale operation and can barely keep it afloat in your market, you could see MP as some kind of last ditch effort to turn things around, but otherwise I wouldn't know why anybody would want to pay anything to them, there's simply nothing in there for the theater, except less margin...
If every player in the exhibition industry keeps their head straight and doesn't fall for the standard scare tactics they're already employing (like taking popular, non-co-paying locations out of their schedule), this thing will probably be over in a few months.
Maybe someone should also start to highlight all the customer horror stories floating around on the Internet regarding MP already, including those supposedly random single-sided lifetime bans, non-existing customer service, etc. At least it helps to deflect the attention away from the exhibitors as being the bad guys not playing ball.
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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002
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posted 02-11-2018 12:25 AM
quote: Mike Blakesley
I can see the handwriting on the wall now.... when MoviePass runs out of money, these idiots are going to BLAME THE THEATERS for it, since no theater will want to share its concession and film profits.
And I'm sure they'll be people on social media sites who will agree and blame theaters, but in the end, so what? Movie Pass is typical of the arrogance displayed by other web services as such Uber, except at least Uber had a viable financial model. Movie Pass has no real financial model. And really, what data are they really going to be able to sell? They presumably know the address of the user, what theater they go to and what movies they see. Maybe they also know their gender and age. So what? Most of their users go to see hit movies. Big surprise. What is anyone going to do with that data?
We went through this back around 2000 when all these web startups had financial models where the lost money on every sale but wanted to go public based upon "the lifetime value of the customer" and supposed data. That didn't work either and it all came to a halt with the market and dot.com collapse after 9/11.
And instead of getting all upset with users trying to buy an upscale ticket, they should just max out the amount they're willing to pay and leave the rest up to the member.
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