heliosandmathesonanalytics
Latest
MoviePass is dying, but its former leader wants to resurrect it
Just days after MoviePass shut down, one of the key players behind its initial success and subsequent failure wants to purchase it. Ted Farnsworth announced today that he's made an offer to acquire MoviePass -- along with related assets belonging to its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. In a press release, Farnsworth said he's proud of MoviePass and has no intention of walking away now.
MoviePass confirms breach that leaked credit card numbers
On Tuesday TechCrunch reported that security researcher Mossab Hussein, with the firm SpiderSilk, found an exposed, unencrypted MoviePass database with millions of records. Some of those included numbers for its custom debit cards that are used when subscribers purchase tickets, while others listed customer's personal information including their credit card numbers, expiration dates and billing information. Another researcher had located the vulnerable information back in July and notified the company, but neither was able to get a response, while yet another found evidence the database had been public since May of this year. MoviePass took the database offline yesterday after the report, and today finally publicly responded with a statement from a spokesperson. MoviePass recently discovered a security vulnerability that may have exposed subscriber records. After discovering the vulnerability, we immediately secured our systems to prevent further exposure and to mitigate the potential impact of this incident. MoviePass takes this incident seriously and is dedicated to protecting our subscribers' information. We are working diligently to investigate the scope of this incident and its potential impact on our subscribers. Once we gain a full understanding of the incident, we will promptly notify any affected subscribers and the appropriate regulators or law enforcement. The company put its services "on hold" in July while saying it was working on its app, but couldn't close this security hole -- despite apparent attempts at notifications before restoring access "to a substantial number of our current subscribers."
MoviePass is planning to relaunch an unlimited movie plan
MoviePass is once again making changes to its membership plans. The company that has been locked in a cycle of never-ending, often self-inflicted turmoil is reportedly getting ready to re-introduce a version of its unlimited movie plan, according to Variety. The membership level will do away with any limits on how many movies a person can see in a month, but no price for the unlimited plan has been announced. Khalid Itum, the executive vice president of MoviePass, said the plan would arrive next week, so we won't have to wait long for more details.
MoviePass to spin out from its parent company amid legal woes
If you're in any way familiar with Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY for short), you probably know it only as the owner of MoviePass -- and the company would unsurprisingly like to change that perception. Its board has greenlit a preliminary plan to spin out a subsidiary, MoviePass Entertainment Holdings, that would take control of the shares of both MoviePass Inc. and HMNY's other movie-related assets. The firm isn't shy about the reasoning: it has "become synonymous" with MoviePass ever since taking control of it at the end of 2017, and it believes its "market perception" might improve by spinning out the subscription movie offering. In other words: MoviePass has overshadowed its other businesses, and it wants to remove that close association.
MoviePass product chief leaves after six months
If MoviePass was hoping that recent talent additions would help it escape its financial woes, it might want to put those dreams on hold. The company has confirmed to Variety that Chief Product Officer Mike Berkley has left the company about six months after he joined. It's not certain why he left, although MoviePass had recruited him to improve the user experience at a time when its subscriber count was growing at a breakneck pace.
MoviePass stops offering tickets for big movies amid outages
MoviePass' financial and technical problems keep getting worse. According to a Business Insider source, company chief Mitch Lowe not only told staffers that the service wouldn't offer tickets for the next two major movie releases this summer (Christopher Robin and The Meg), but hinted that this would be the policy for other movies in the near future. Some viewers couldn't order tickets for Mission: Impossible - Fallout this past weekend, for that matter. A spokesperson wouldn't directly comment on the report, but did point to an open letter from Lowe that said "certain movies may not always be available in every theater."
MoviePass tries a financial Hail Mary to keep itself afloat
There's no doubt about it: MoviePass is bleeding cash, and there's no guarantee that a growing subscriber base or investors (who are increasingly jittery) will keep it going. And that, in turn, is leading it to consider more drastic measures. MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY for short) has filed a statement with the SEC to let it sell as much as $1.2 billion in equity and debt securities over the next three years. This doesn't guarantee that it will raise $1.2 billion, as TechCrunch mentioned -- rather, it would provide a new avenue for raising cash if it doesn't think other options are enough.
