Husker du MoviePass? ITavisen skrev om tjenesten i 2017, da den var i sin spede begynnelse.
Ved å betale en månedlig sum på 9,95 dollar, altså rundt 90 kroner, skulle kundene få muligheten til å dra på kino så ofte de ønsket, uten å betale for en ordinær billett.
Da tjenesten var på sitt mest populære, hadde MoviePass tre millioner abonnenter i USA.
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Tom for penger
Men det har vist seg å være vanskelig å tjene penger på dette konseptet. Nå har selskapet så lite penger igjen at de ikke ser noen annen utvei enn å stenge tjenesten.
Det kommer frem av en pressemelding som MoviePass sendte ut fredag.
For øvrig er det ikke første gang MoviePass stenges. I fjor sommer måtte tjenesten legges ned fordi selskapet ikke klarte å betale sine kreditorer. Et nødlån på 5 millioner dollar sørget imidlertid for at MoviePass gjenoppstod fra asken.
Usikker på fremtiden
Denne gangen er trolig nedleggelsen mer permanent. I pressemeldingen opplyses det om at MoviePass-tjenesten ble stoppet for alle abonnenenter 14. september.
I tillegg skriver MoviePass’ morselskap – Helios og Matheson Analytics – at det er «umulig å forutsi om, og når, tjenesten eventuelt kommer tilbake».
Selskapet legger til at de fortsatt jobber med å finne en måte å finansiere tjenesten på.
«Vi mener fortsatt at det er dypt nødvendig å ha en tjeneste som MoviePass-i dette markedet (…), selv om vi akkurat nå ikke vet hva fremtiden bringer for MoviePass-tjenesten, håper vi at vi finner en vei som gjør det mulig for oss å drive tjenesten videre i fremtiden», skriver MoviePass-sjef Mitch Lowe i en beskjed til abonnentene.
Her kan du lese hele uttalelsen:
Dear MoviePass™ Subscribers,
Over the past several months, MoviePass™ worked hard to relaunch its groundbreaking subscription service and recapitalize the company. While we were able to relaunch the service for some of our subscribers with an improved technology platform, our efforts to recapitalize the company have not been successful to date. As a result, it pains us to inform you that effective at 8 a.m. E.T. on September 14, 2019, we must interrupt service for all current MoviePass™ subscribers. MoviePass™ will be providing subscribers with appropriate refunds for their period of service already paid for. Subscribers will not need to request a refund or contact MoviePass™ customer service to receive a refund. Subscribers will not be charged during the service interruption. At this point, we are unable to predict if or when the MoviePass™ service will continue.
We still deeply believe in the need for the MoviePass™ service in the marketplace, to maintain affordable access to theaters and provide movie lovers with choices of where to go to the movies. In August 2017, MoviePass™ began a transformation of the moviegoing industry by introducing its low monthly price subscription service. Since then, others in the industry have followed our lead. Now, as a result of this transformation, movie lovers throughout the United States have the ability to see movies in theaters using subscription services at prices they can actually afford, albeit with limited choices of theaters using those services. In the course of this industry transformation, MoviePass™ has experienced setbacks and challenges that are well known. Nevertheless, MoviePass™ remained committed to leading and competing in an industry that is resistant to outside competition and change. We believe that fostering competition and change in the moviegoing industry is critical to the satisfaction of the moviegoing public and filmmakers alike.
We thank you for your loyalty to MoviePass™ and sharing our vision for the industry. Although we do not currently know what the future holds for the MoviePass™ service, we hope to find a path that will enable us to continue the service in the future.
Sincerely,
Mitch Lowe
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