MovieFone Inc., a movie listing and ticketing service, reported record usage
of its services and said it has signed new, expanded relationships with three
of the country’s top theater chains.
The company said that use of the MovieFone telephone service and its online
sister service, Movielink.com, is expected to be up 30 percent,
to 110 million user sessions for the year, representing over 250 million
moviegoers, or nearly 20 percent of all U.S. moviegoers in 1998.
The company also said that Loews Cineplex Entertainment, United Artists
Theatre Circuit and AMC Entertainment Inc. have each signed agreements to
increase the depth of their relationships with MovieFone both on the phone and
the Web.
As a result, the number of screens for which MovieFone sells tickets will
increase by 1,000 screens–or 40 percent. Teleticketing will now be available for
approximately 60 percent of all movie screens in the top five movie cities (New York,
Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco) and 25 percent of all movie screens
in the 34 major cities served by MovieFone.
“This strong increase in usage of our services shows that today’s moviegoers,
especially the younger generation that accounts for the majority of movie
admissions, are moving away from traditional movie information sources and are demanding instant
access to listings and tickets,” said Andrew R. Jarecki, CEO of MovieFone.
“Our expanded relationships with the country’s top theater chains show that
the industry is embracing new technology as it responds to the needs of its
patrons.”
MovieFone also said it will provide theater-specific three-digit express codes
so that moviegoers loyal to a particular theater may have instant access to
listings and tickets for that theater.
In many cases, theaters will replace their own individual phone lines with
local numbers provided by MovieFone to eliminate busy signals and enhance
customer service.
MovieFone also will promote these chains through advertising on MovieFone and
Movielink.com and through its national network of media partners, including
newspapers, radio stations, etc.
The company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, says it has
received over 325 million calls and logged over 40 million online users.
