MovieTickets.com Pacts With App Startup MovieQu
MovieTickets.com has cut a deal with startup MovieQu to let users purchase tix for 28,000-plus screens worldwide directly within the app.
The MovieQu app, which launched in July for Apple’s iPhone, identifies movie trailers using audio-recognition technology to let users bookmark upcoming releases they’re planning to see by adding it to their calendar. Initially, MovieQu will sell tickets through MovieTickets.com only in the U.S.
“Working with MovieQu gives us yet another original platform to provide moviegoers with access to advance tickets and our exhibitors another meaningful distribution option,” MovieTickets.com CEO Joel Cohen said.
Privately held MovieQu is backed by founders Rakesh Nigam, who has worked as a technology exec in the financial services industry, and Allison Silver, a former Wall Street analyst.
“We want to keep people engaged in movies they love, from adding them to their queue to ticket purchasing,” said Nigam, who is currently a partner at tech consulting firm Crossbridge Consulting Americas.
MovieQu still has a small user base, with just a few thousand downloads of the app to date, but Nigam expects the integration of MovieTickets.com to expand its appeal. New York-based MovieQu has nine employees and sees revenue opportunities in selling ads or intent-to-see demographic data of moviegoers to studios.
The MovieQu app learns users’ preferences, suggesting films under the “Recommended” tab, and lets users search for trailers. Users also can see which movies their friends on the service plan to go see.
MovieTickets.com, which competes with NBCUniversal’s Fandango, provides advance movie ticketing for 240 theater chains in 21 countries. Founded in 2000, the company’s backers include: Hollywood Media, National Amusements, Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Entertainment Group, Marcus Theatres, Viacom and Time Warner.
For MovieTickets, the MovieQu deal is the latest partnership designed to extend its reach across digital points of presence. Last week, it announced a deal with wireless-advertising firm Mobiquity Networks to deliver targeted, location-based campaigns to MovieTickets.com app users. When a movie fan walks into one of the 320 U.S. shopping malls equipped with Mobiquity’s system, they will receive content about upcoming releases in their area.
MovieQu, founded in 2012, originally launched with a partnership with discount-ticket provider Dealflicks, which has deals with theaters to sell seats for movies that aren’t likely to sell out at full price. That’s going away with the addition of MovieTickets.com to MovieQu.
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