Fandango to Launch Mobile Service for Movie Information, Messaging and Ticketing

Fandango to Launch Mobile Service for Movie Information, Messaging and Ticketing

The Nation's Largest Movie Ticketing Service, Already the Leader Online and on the Phone, Will Roll Out Its Latest Application in October

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The movie information and ticketing business will get a wireless wake-up call next month. Fandango, the nation's largest online and phone movie ticketing service (representing nearly 70% of all U.S. theaters enabled for remote ticketing), today announced the rollout of its new mobile service. With the company's latest application, users of Web-enabled mobile phones and PDAs will be able to access movie information and ticketing at mobile.fandango.com. Moviegoers will also have the convenience of texting Fandango at short-code "FNDGO" (36346) for access to specific movie and theater information.

The new Fandango mobile service, developed in association with wireless application developer Crisp Wireless, is an extension of the company's objective to make moviegoing as convenient for as many moviegoers as possible -- anywhere, anytime. At launch, the easy-to-use service will enable mobile users to obtain:

* comprehensive movie information, including reviews * showtimes, theater amenities, directions and maps * alerts when tickets go on sale for upcoming movies * tickets within seconds.

Other features planned for the mobile service include:

* downloadable offerings, including movie-related ringtones, wallpapers and games * premium content including movie trailers and exclusive clips.

With Fandango's mobile messaging service, film fans can quickly get showtimes for their favorite movies, and receive mobile alerts of advance ticket availability for highly anticipated films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong. For instance, as part of a mobile messaging campaign, moviegoers could send a film title and ZIP code (e.g., "KONG 94103") as a text message to "FNDGO" and receive showtimes and ticket availability for nearby theaters. In addition, Fandango's mobile marketing services will allow studios and other marketers the ability to deliver mobile marketing campaigns and promotions to targeted, active moviegoers and allow them to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns through ticket purchases.

Future offerings will include location-based services, which will provide additional information such as restaurant listings to moviegoers based on their geography. The mobile service also plans to provide other powerful features such as virtual movie tickets, another seamless way to bypass the box office by offering a barcode on a wireless device that can be scanned by the ticket-taker.

"There's a significant crossover audience of active mobile users and frequent moviegoers," notes Art Levitt, CEO of Fandango. "With nearly 200 million wireless subscribers in the U.S.(1) -- and over 50 million mobile devices connected to the wireless Web -- it makes perfect sense for us to launch this service. This new platform will extend the Fandango brand and broaden our reach, while offering fun services such as text messaging, premium content and mobile promotions. At the end of the day, it's all about creating a more convenient moviegoing experience -- whether you're sitting in a restaurant, discussing which movie to see, checking reviews and showtimes and purchasing tickets on your phone, or waiting at an airport and planning a family weekend at the movies from your PDA."

About Fandango

Fandango, the nation's largest online and phone movie ticketing service, sells tickets to approximately 1,100 theaters and 12,500 screens (nearly 70 percent of theaters in the U.S. enabled for remote ticketing) and to four out of the five largest U.S. theater chains. Fandango's convenient service lets moviegoers quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and buy tickets in advance on www.fandango.com and at 1-800-FANDANGO. Fandango sells tickets to more theaters than all of its competitors combined and is the exclusive ticketing service for the largest North American exhibitors: Carmike Theaters, Century Theatres, Edwards Theatres, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas and United Artists Theatres, as well as to Brenden Theatres, CineArts, Cineplex Odeon Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Colorado Theatres, Crown Theatres, Eastern Federal Theatres, Kerasotes Theatres, Magic Johnson, Majestic Crest Theatre, R/C Theatres, Signature Theatres, Star Theatres and Wallace Theaters. Fandango allows customers to bypass the box office with in-theater ticket pick-up kiosks and Print at Home ticketing, and offers an e-mail invitation tool and Fandango Bucks, "gift of the movies."

(1) According to CTIA -- The Wireless Association

Source: Fandango, Inc.

CONTACT: Harry Medved of Fandango, Inc., +1-310-451-7690, ext. 112, or +1-310-200-1201, harry.medved@fandango.com

Web site: http://www.fandango.com/

------- Profile: Ent