Fandango Acquires M-Go, Will Bundle Downloads With Ticket Sales
Movie downloads are now a value-added perk. Friday, movie ticketing service Fandango announced that it is acquiring transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service M-Go for an undisclosed sum. Fandango is a part of NBCUniversal, while M-Go was owned jointly by Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation. This is Fandango's first move into the streaming space, but it made the purchase to boost its theater ticket sales.
"We're excited to start working with our studio and exhibition partners to bundle theatrical tickets and home entertainment products in the form of 'super tickets,' gifts with purchase, and other promotional offers," says Fandango president Paul Yanover.
The move could be a sign of how challenging the TVOD market is, with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services filling viewer's evenings, and several well-funded competitors—such as Apple iTunes, Google Play, and Walmart's Vudu—going after the same consumers.
M-Go's office is currently in Culver City, California, but will move to Fandango's West Los Angeles location. Some M-Go employees were hired by Fandango, and some were laid off, The Hollywood Reporter notes.
Earlier last week, streaming TV service FilmOn acquired TVOD service CinemaNow for an undisclosed amount. CinemaNow was started in 1999 by a group that included Microsoft, Cisco, and EchoStar. Thanks to FilmOn's agreement with Lenovo, the PC-maker will include CinemaNow apps on its computers.
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