The previous chairman of defunct cinema subscription app MoviePass, Ted Farnsworth, is again with a brand new firm. However as an alternative of disrupting the movie show business with low cost month-to-month charges, he’s attempting to tackle TikTok and Triller within the fast-growing cell video house.
His agency, Zash World Media and Leisure Corp., on Tuesday stated it has taken management of Lomotif, a Singapore-based video-sharing platform that competes with Beijing-based TikTok. Zash has acquired an 80% controlling curiosity in Lomotif, the corporate stated.
Monetary particulars weren’t disclosed.
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Farnsworth, who cofounded Zash with entrepreneurs Jaeson Ma and Vincent Butta, has reentered the dealmaking house after MoviePass’ collapse by making inroads in digital leisure, together with with its platform for social media influencers. Zash final month signed an settlement to merge with publicly traded acquisition firm Vinco Ventures.
The corporate plans to construct on Lomotif’s social media platform by rising the app’s presence within the U.S. and including unique content material, together with actuality TV and sports activities programming, to associate with its user-generated movies. He stated he sees a significant alternative to capitalize on advertisers’ starvation to attach with audiences by means of social media branding efforts by on-line personalities.
Whereas the app’s reputation within the U.S. pales compared to TikTok’s, the corporate has a robust foothold in Asia and Latin America, Farnsworth stated. The corporate additionally sees a significant alternative in India, the place TikTok is banned.
Farnsworth, who lives in Florida and is producing movies in Syracuse, N.Y., stated the corporate will proceed to pursue further acquisitions together with manufacturing firms. “We’re in talks with different firms as we communicate,” he informed The Occasions.
“Lomotif will actually be our cornerstone, as we construct out round it,” Farnsworth stated.
Farnsworth is greatest identified for his work main MoviePass in probably the most spectacular rise-and-fall leisure startup tales of the final a number of years. He was chief government of MoviePass’ New York-based mother or father firm, Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc., which declared bankruptcy in January 2020.
Helios & Matheson purchased then little-known MoviePass in August 2017 and turned it right into a phenomenon by providing just about limitless movie show visits for $9.95 a month. The app shortly grew to three million subscribers however struggled as a result of the extra folks used it, the more cash it misplaced. MoviePass shed prospects because it tried to stem losses by limiting what number of films folks might see. In the meantime, the theater firms, which noticed MoviePass as an aggressive interloper, launched subscription choices of their very own.
After MoviePass shut down its service in late 2019, Farnsworth stepped down from Helios & Matheson and tried to bid for MoviePass, however he was unsuccessful.
Trying again, Farnsworth stated MoviePass modified the enterprise of moviegoing. A number of theater chains, together with AMC Theatres, Regal, Cinemark and Alamo Drafthouse, launched their very own variations of a subscription program with a purpose to enhance attendance.
Presently, many theaters stay closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday stated New York Metropolis theaters might lastly reopen, whereas limiting them to 25% capability.
Lots of MoviePass’ issues stemmed from the truth that the corporate’s know-how and customer support couldn’t deal with the app’s stage of progress. That received’t be a problem for Lomotif, whose customers have uploaded billions of video clips, Farnsworth stated. The app has had greater than 225 million downloads globally, the corporate stated.
“I nonetheless to at the present time consider in that [MoviePass] mannequin very a lot, although clearly not now with theaters closed,” Farnsworth stated. “We undoubtedly modified the business without end. I believe right here, that is completely completely different as a result of [Lomotif users are] producing their very own content material. They’re used to the size and the consumption.”
Lomotif, based in 2014, is in a aggressive enterprise. The app had 25.2 million international downloads in 2020, in keeping with information agency SensorTower. That’s far fewer than the 987 million for TikTok and 254 million for Singapore-based Likee.
TikTok final 12 months got here below fireplace from the Trump administration, which accused it of sharing person information with the Chinese language authorities. TikTok denied doing so. Trump moved to ban the app, and TikTok made a take care of Oracle Corp. and Walmart, however that agreement reportedly has been shelved amid a broad Biden administration assessment of U.S. enterprise dealings with China.
Triller, owned by former studio chief Ryan Kavanaugh’s Proxima Media, tried to reap the benefits of TikTok’s ache however struggled to take care of its early momentum.
