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MoviePass Limiting Subscribers To 3 Movies Per Month (npr.org)
nolaguy shares a report from NPR: Movie theater subscription service MoviePass will not be raising prices, as it had announced last week, but will instead be capping the number of times that subscribers can visit movie theaters. For $9.95 per month, MoviePass subscribers used to be able to see a movie in theaters every day, if they so chose. Beginning on August 15, the service will instead provide three movies per month. The change replaces a previously announced plan to raise prices to $14.95 a month. The beleaguered movie theater subscription company is also canceling two other recent changes -- "peak pricing" surcharges for popular movies and a ticket verification process -- that were intended to stop the company from bleeding money.
Things like data collection/analysis and advertising can bring in extra money. I remember reading that they had planned on tracking where people went near theaters and that they were planning on offering ads/coupons to nearby places. And it seems like there's potential for more beyond that if they're competent enough to get it done. I imagine they'd have to make a lot of money off of that to make up for losses though.
This story goes way deeper. The parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, is a spin-off of Helios and Matheson Information Technology, an Indian ponzi scheme that defrauded between five and seven thousand investors, including the elderly and banks. The Indian principals' accounts in India are still frozen and the fraud investigation is still pending. Some of them were involved in the US H&M board or got hired as "consultants" to the US board for over $18K/month.
https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-has-deep-ties-to-indian-company-accused-of-fraud-2018-6
The newer US board and C-levels are serial penny-stock entrepreneurs in fields like psychic phone networks and marijuana vending machines.
The whole thing was always a blend of ponzi and pump and dump. They use hype to lure in investors, and they were wildly successful, running the stock up to 8000 less than a year ago and crashing it to less than a dollar.
Everyone who ever touched either Helios and Matheson needs to be investigated and held as a flight risk, especially the Indians who already fled India. This company needs to be prosecuted as an example and deterrent.
Well, IANAL, but:
You are expected to read these Terms of Use because your use of our Site and Service constitutes your agreement to the Arbitration Agreement and Class Action waiver described in Sections 17 and 18 below to resolve any disputes with us...
17. Arbitration And Small Claims Proceedings
(i) EITHER YOU OR WE MAY CHOOSE TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN US DECIDED BY ARBITRATION AND NOT IN COURT OR BY JURY TRIAL.
(ii) IF A DISPUTE IS ARBITRATED, YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST US IN STATE OR FEDERAL COURT INCLUDING ANY RIGHT TO CLASS ARBITRATION OR ANY CONSOLIDATION OF INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATIONS.
https://www.moviepass.com/term...
Beware of the Leopard.
Arbitration is just cheaper and faster, it doesn't make illegal shit any more legal.
How is it against the law to change the price or offerings of your subscription service? For all the company's faults, they seem to be doing this aboveboard. If you feel that it is no longer a good value, then just cancel the subscription.