The Nation`s Largest Movie Ticketing Service to Exclusively Represent More
Than 13,000 Screens
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28, 2005 -- Fandango, the nation`s largest
online, phone and mobile movie ticketing service, has reached exclusive
ticketing agreements with five new exhibitors, including Wallace Theaters,
Wehrenberg Theatres, the American Cinematheque, Colorado Cinemas and Cobb
Theaters. The company has also promoted Rick Butler to the newly-created
position of Chief Information Officer (CIO), the top technology, operations
and exhibitor relations position at Fandango, reporting directly to President
and CEO Art Levitt.
The new exhibitor agreements, along with record-breaking Web site traffic
(5.2 million unique visitors for November 2005, according to
Nielsen//NetRatings), are the latest growth indicators for Fandango, now the
exclusive movie ticketing service to over 13,000 screens and 1,150 theaters,
nearly 70 percent of theaters in the U.S. enabled for remote ticketing. The
five new exhibitors have varied but important footprints across the country:
* Wallace Theaters has over 500 screens in 14 states including California,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, Kansas, Alabama and Hawaii, as well as in
Guam, Saipan and the Pacific Rim.
* Wehrenberg Theatres, the high-grossing Midwest chain headquartered in
St. Louis, is the nation`s oldest family-owned and operated circuit,
currently celebrating its 100th anniversary.
* The American Cinematheque, Hollywood`s premier exhibitor of classic,
independent and foreign films, runs both the 1922 movie palace, The
Egyptian, in Hollywood, and the 1940 Aero in Santa Monica. In
partnership with Fandango, these historic theaters will be wired for
remote ticketing for the first time.
* Colorado Cinemas is one of the highest-grossing theater chains in the
state.
* Cobb Theaters is a strong and growing regional theater chain in the
Southeast.
As CIO, Butler will work closely with Fandango`s new and existing
exhibitors, and will be responsible for Fandango`s day-to-day technical
operations, Web site engineering and technology infrastructure, including
e-commerce, corporate IT and theater and customer support. Formerly
Fandango`s Vice President of Operations, Butler is one of the company`s
original executives, and brings over 20 years of experience in operations,
technology solutions delivery and professional services to the team. Prior to
joining Fandango, Butler was senior vice president of operations for the
FinancialPrinter.com business unit of Conscium Inc. and regional vice
president for Bowne Business Solutions.
"We are very excited about bringing Fandango`s technology to our strong
new theater partners," said Art Levitt, President and CEO of Fandango, "and
we`re happy to promote Rick to the newly-created position of CIO, to work
closely with all of our partners. Rick has been instrumental during
Fandango`s five-year history of tremendous growth -- and we look forward to
Rick helping take Fandango to new levels of success in his expanded role."
About Fandango
Fandango, the nation`s largest movie ticketing service, sells tickets to
more than 13,000 screens and 1,150 theaters (nearly 70 percent of theaters in
the U.S. enabled for remote ticketing) and to four out of the five largest
U.S. theater circuits (according to National Association of Theater Owners,
June 2005). One of the Web`s top movie destinations (according to
Nielsen//NetRatings), Fandango allows moviegoers to read reviews, view
trailers, quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and buy
tickets up to 45 days in advance. Fandango is available at http://www.fandango.com,
1-800-FANDANGO and via your wireless mobile device at mobile.fandango.com.
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