By MoviePass CEO Stacey Spikes says its ticketing service may allow users who buy tickets on the app to watch commercials in exchange for credits they can use towards movie tickets.
Spikes co-founded the company, which was then acquired by Ted Farnsworth and Mitch Lowe who ejected him and ran the company into the ground with its ultra-low pricing ticket offers.
Lowe and Farnsworth have been sued for fraud by the SEC, whilst shareholders in MoviePass’ parent company, Helios + Matheson, were wiped out when it filed for Chapter 11.
Spikes relaunched the company out of bankruptcy in 2022 with more responsible pricing and are aiming to start a beta trial of the ads for credits plan this coming summer.
Appearing at SXSW after the premiere of the Muta’Ali-directed documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash,” Spikes discussed the thinking of the new strategy which is inspired by the rise of AVOD and wants to do the same thing with cinema going:
“We’ve always looked at how cinema can compete against its video cousin. Its video cousin has three business models (TVOD, SVOD and AVOD).
We believe there is a world where you can actually go to the movies for free. There is advertising that loves partnering. I am going to use an extreme example. Every time there is a James Bond movie, there is Heineken, Omega watches, BMW, Aston Martin, Hugo Boss suits. Every time. We know it’s going to happen. And the brands know it because it’s a very effective sell through.
I believe that AVOD… can make a portion of moviegoing completely free, where people will be able to earn credits related to watching that [advertising] content offline, that can convert into movie tickets.”
“MoviePass, MovieCrash” chronicles the origin story, meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion of MoviePass as told through the eyes of the company’s co-founders.
Source: Deadline
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