MoviePass to Shut Down for Days to Rework App, Recapitalize
MoviePass shutdown will begin at 5 a.m. New York time on July 4.
(Bloomberg) -- MoviePass, the financially beleaguered movie-subscription service, plans to shut down for a number of days to revamp a mobile app that’s frustrated customers and to recapitalize.
The shutdown will begin at 5 a.m. New York time on July 4. Subscribers will be credited for the time the service was down, the company said Wednesday. During this period, no new subscribers will be enrolled.
“There’s never a good time to have to do this,” Chief Executive Officer Mitch Lowe said in the statement. “But to complete the improved version of our app, one that we believe will provide a much better experience for our subscribers, it has to be done.”
Owned by Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc., the company also said it plans to use the down time to recapitalize, without providing details. MoviePass gained popularity with filmgoers by offering a $9.95-a-month subscription that let fans go to the movies every day. The company retooled that model several times as its losses ballooned.
The parent company posted a loss of $329.3 million in 2018 on revenue of $232.3 million, according to a filing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Golum in Los Angeles at rgolum@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Christopher Palmeri
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