Failing MoviePass to Become Publicly-Traded Company — This Ought to be Good
Failing MoviePass to Become Publicly-Traded Company — This Ought to be Good
Okay, so there’s a bit of sarcasm in that title to say the least. Today, MoviePass investor Helios and Matheson Analytics made an announcement. The company announced, basically, that they’re tired of being associated with MoviePass. No, seriously. While the company says it realizes it’s best for both companies — that sounds more like a terrible breakup of “It’s good for both of us” and the always great, “It’s not you, it’s me.”
The company announced it’s spinning the company off into it’s own company that will create a, “vertically integrated film production, marketing and exhibition company.”
The reason? “For many years, HMNY has been focused on data analytics, and in that capacity we own assets like Zone Technologies which provides a safety and navigation app for iOS and Android users and a global security concierge service. Since we acquired control of MoviePass in December 2017, HMNY largely has become synonymous with MoviePass in the public’s eye, leading us to believe that our shareholders and the market perception of HMNY might benefit from separating our movie-related assets from the rest of our company.” Right. Basically, we don’t like people are connected MoviePass with our company so we’re splitting off.
MoviePass Falling
So why would a company want to not be associated with MoviePass? Well, I don’t want to take too much of your time. But, basically, MoviePass ran out of money and consumers couldn’t use the product, is being investigated for fraud, and have changed their subscription service repeatedly. What was once an incredibly good (and to be honest, too good to be true) subscription service has been limited to a barely manageable way to see movies. Choice is now non-existent in some theaters and times when you actually want to see a movie. The unlimited portion is also gone.
Final Thoughts
MoviePass had a great concept from a consumer perspective. But it was pretty clear it would not last for long. When MoviePass ran out of money, it had to change it’s services. Instead of being communicative with consumers, they promised something and couldn’t deliver after they ran out of money. Rumors about the service flowed through the media while the company left customers in the dark about what was next (most rumors ended up being proven true). The company then came out with a set of rules, had people agree to them, and practically changed them overnight — again.
That’s when I called it quits. But even after canceling and getting a confirmation of cancelation, the company charged my card. I had to spend time with their customer service getting a refund. Now, they have sent three emails in the past week offering 30% off to return — a sign I think shows people have probably left in significant numbers.
The bottom line is MoviePass is not a reliable company. They were dishonest and untrustworthy. That’s the worst a company can be.
