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AMC hikes prices for its MoviePass rival in 15 states
It's not just upstarts like MoviePass hiking rates for their movie subscription services. AMC is raising prices for its Stubs A-List service in the 15 states where it's "most popular." As of January 9th, 2019, the service will jump from $20 per month to $22 per month in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington state and DC. That price is climbing to $24 per month in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. You'll still get the $20 per month rate for a year if you subscribe before January 9th, as well as in the 35 other states not affected by the price increase.
Sinemia will help movie theaters create their own subscription plans
While MoviePass' money woes have led it to change its service and its users' plans a number of times, Sinemia seems to have avoided the issues that have plagued its rival. The company offers a number of plans, including an unlimited version as well as family plans, but it'll soon add another service, this one for theaters themselves rather than moviegoers.
AMC's MoviePass competitor has 400,000 subscribers after 14 weeks
We've heard a lot about MoviePass and its competitors recently, one of which is AMC's A-List service. This week, the movie theater chain announced that it has passed over 400,000 subscribers. According to a release, that means the company has achieved 80 percent of its one-year membership goal of 500,000 members in just 14 weeks.
'The Walking Dead' mobile game will keep pace with the TV show
The Walking Dead: Our World is a mobile game that plunges you into the zombie-filled world of its televised namesake. As season nine of the AMC TV show premieres, the publisher has announced that the game will offer new missions that correspond to each new episode. From Monday October 8th, and every subsequent Monday, the game will add themed jaunts based on what transpired on AMC the night before.
AMC’s A-List subscription service now supports Fandango and Atom
AMC is making it even easier for you to use the Stubs A-List subscription program, as members will now be able to get movie tickets through Fandango and Atom Tickets. The company launched A-List, its answer to MoviePass, in June, and though the three-movies-per-week plan cost more than what MoviePass was offering at the time -- one movie per day for $10 per month -- it also featured a few perks that MoviePass lacked, such as IMAX and 3D showings, repeat viewings and booking in advance.
MoviePass failed so cinema can live
In the blink of an eye, MoviePass went from being one of the hottest startups to a textbook example of how not to run a company. Its $9.95-a-month plan, which let you see one movie per day, launched last year, followed by explosive growth. But MoviePass was unsustainable from the get-go, and its success led directly to a slew of recent issues: surge pricing for popular showtimes (which often seemed randomly assigned); an outage after the company literally ran out of money; and excluding some of the most anticipated titles of the year, like Mission Impossible: Fallout. Now, instead of raising its subscription price, MoviePass is limiting customers to three movies a month.
MoviePass’ surge pricing starts today
Last month, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe announced that surge pricing would soon go into effect, charging customers a little extra for movies and showtimes that are especially popular. That added fee, which MoviePass is calling Peak Pricing, starts rolling out today to customers with a monthly plan as well as any new annual subscribers. When a film or a particular showtime is in high demand and subject to an additional fee, you'll see a little red lightning icon over the showtime. Any showtimes that are gaining in popularity and could have an added Peak Pricing fee soon will have a grey lightning icon above them.
MoviePass will begin surge pricing next month
Business Insider reports today that MoviePass will start charging surge prices for certain movies during particular times. When the app deems a showing to be exceptionally popular, MoviePass will charge its subscribers an additional $2, according to CEO Mitch Lowe. "At certain times for certain films -- on opening weekend -- there could be an additional charge for films," he told Business Insider. The new pricing is set to take effect in July, but Lowe says subscribers to the annual plan will be exempt.
Streaming TV firm Philo is offering three months of Pandora Premium
Streaming TV upstart Philo is giving customers a freebie: three months of Pandora Premium for new and existing subscribers to either of its packages. Pandora's on-demand music service already offers a 60-day trial, but those who take up the deal will get three months of free music.
MoviePass adds 500,000 subscribers within a month
MoviePass' $10-per-month subscription service was a hit from the start, enough to crash the company's website when it was first announced. It looks like demand isn't slowing down anytime soon either: it has gained 500,000 more subscribers merely a month after it reached 1.5 million users. The fact that MoviePass cut off members' access to some popular AMC theaters had little effect, if any. It's easy to see why 2 million would sign up: for 10 bucks a month -- an ongoing promo even cuts the price down to $7.95 -- they're entitled to see one 2D film a day, every day, without paying extra.
MoviePass abruptly cuts off access to several AMC theaters
The $9.95 MoviePass subscription has been incredibly popular and soon the company will invest in films itself, but because the company pays full price for each ticket, it's subsidizing each customer's theater visit. AMC execs called the plan "unsustainable" last fall, leading to today's reports by Deadline and Variety that the service no longer covers visits to several big market AMC theaters: Empire 25 (NYC), Century City 15 and Universal CityWalk 19 (LA), Loews Boston Common 19, River East 21 (Chicago), Disney Springs at Walt Disney World, and Loews Alderwood Mall 16 (WA).
MoviePass offers an even bigger discount if you pay for a year upfront
MoviePass is dropping its price point yet again. In August, the company reduced its subscription cost to just $10 per month -- down from $15 to $21 depending on where you lived -- and upped the amount of movies its subscribers could see from two per month to one per day. Now, if you're willing to pay for the whole year up front, you can snag the no contract, subscription for $7 per month.
AMC will install room-scale VR in theaters by 2019
Movie theater chain AMC is committing to virtual reality in a big way. The company has announced a $10 million investment (as part of a $20 million investment round) in Dreamscape Immersive, a VR storytelling studio with a focus on room-scale installations and real-time motion tracking.
WSJ: Discovery, AMC and Viacom try a sports-free streaming bundle
The already crowded field of "skinny bundles" will soon feature another service vying for your attention (and wallet). As The Wall Street Journal reports, a host of broadcast networks are reportedly soft launching a new streaming platform stocked with their entertainment channels. Discovery Communications, Viacom Inc., A+E Networks, AMC Networks, and Scripps Networks Interactive will all be part of the service. But, the likes of ESPN and Fox Sports won't. That's because the new offering, dubbed 'Philo', will be a sports-free zone.
Fight zombies on your street with 'Walking Dead' AR mobile game
How long would you last during a zombie apocalypse? Because let's be honest, the chances are you'd be shuffling among the living dead in next to no time, no matter how good your baseball swing. But instead of waiting for the end of all humanity to prove us wrong, you can soon test your mettle against the zombie swarm in almost real life, with augmented reality mobile game The Walking Dead: Our World.
Apple mulls pricey early movie rentals right after theater debut
Apple and Comcast are the latest names in the seemingly never-ending struggle to bring movies home faster. Bloomberg reports that the tech behemoth and telco, independently, are in talks with movie studios to offer $50 rentals roughly 17 days after their theatrical debut. Waiting four to six weeks would save you money, as the price would drop to $30 according to Bloomberg's sources. This the same structure we'd heard earlier this year when Warner Bros. and Fox stepped into the fray. The deals could be finalized by early next year, apparently.
AMC wants to opt out of MoviePass' one-movie-a-day deal
You and your friends might be thrilled at MoviePass' new $10-a-month subscription service, but AMC sure isn't. According to Variety and Deadline, the theater chain is trying to find a way to block the service's users from using their subscription at its cinemas. MoviePass' revamped plan allows subscribers to watch one 2D flick a day in participating theaters, which the company says covers 91 percent of all theaters in the US. The service previously cost between $15 to $21 per month, depending on location, for only two movies a month.
‘Karate Kid’ reboot no one asked for debuts on YouTube Red in 2018
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are getting back together to reprise their roles as Karate Kid's Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence in a 10-episode TV series called Cobra Kai. Announced today, the series takes place three decades after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament of the original film. LaRusso, though successful, is finding life a little difficult without Mr. Miyagi to mentor him and a struggling Lawrence reopens the Cobra Kai dojo in an attempt to find some redemption. The two work out their issues through karate in the comedy's half-hour episodes.
'AMC Premiere' will let you stream 'The Walking Dead' ad-free
Today, AMC announced a new way to watch its programming -- through a new service called AMC Premiere that allows subscribers to watch episodes of its current season shows without ads. However, unlike HBO's and Showtime's standalone apps, AMC Premiere is only available to those who have AMC as part of their cable packages. And for now, it's available to Xfinity customers exclusively.
AMC's streaming service would still need a cable subscription
Just because a TV channel wants to offer an online video service doesn't mean it's forward thinking. Case in point: AMC. Reuters sources claim that the network is prepping a paid streaming option (tentatively $5-7 per month) that would require a conventional TV subscription -- it'd be an add-on to your cable package, and nothing more. What this service would offer isn't clear (AMC isn't commenting), but there's talk of an online-only The Walking Dead spinoff in the mix. However, the bigger question is why AMC would chain the service to an existing TV bundle in the first place.
