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Movie Pass Is Evolving

written by Ruben Jay

MoviePass send this email out today :

A Message To Our Members:

The revolution is happening now, and it is all thanks to you. In less than a year, three million pioneers joined us on our journey to see more great movies at an unbeatable price. And we want to thank you, our community, for your steadfast support of our company and growth.

In the spirit of innovation and growth, we are now announcing the next phase in the evolution of our product: Demand Pricing.

In the coming weeks, we will roll out three different upgrades to our base $9.95 service for our members.

Bring-A-Guest: MoviePass members will be able to purchase extra tickets to a showing of a movie right through the MoviePass app, so that you can seamlessly reserve seats for you and your friends (at e-ticketing partner theaters) to watch a film even if they aren’t MoviePass subscribers. As a benefit, if your friend signs up for MoviePass within 24 hours, we’ll refund the entire cost of the ticket!

Peak Pricing: MoviePass is committed to maintaining our low monthly price as we continue to grow rapidly. Rather than raise our prices or limit viewings, our plan has been to develop a new variable pricing system based on the demand for particular showtimes. Under this plan, if the combination of demand for a title, date or part of day is higher, subscribers may be asked to pay a small additional fee depending on the level of demand. You can avoid this peak surcharge by choosing an alternative date or film. We will also soon give subscribers one “peak pass” per month, allowing them to waive a Peak Price surcharge once per month. Annual and Quarterly subscribers will not incur peak pricing until their current subscription term ends and then renews.

Premium Showings: MoviePass members on any plan will soon be able to access RealD 3D, IMAX 2D or 3D, and other Premium Large Format showings of any film for an additional upgrade fee.

These features are being tested currently and will slowly roll out to all our members over the next several weeks.

Our aim is to create the most flexible and cost-efficient product, so that we don’t have to simply raise the price on the subscription. We appreciate your flexibility as we evolve our service to keep MoviePass at a low cost. We can’t express how much we value all of you for being part of that vision.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
The MoviePass Team

23 June, 2018 0 comment
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LifestyleTech

Chipotle Introduces Pick-Up Windows At Select Locations

written by Loren Petisce

Need an easier way to get your Chipotle fix?  How about ordering on your phone and picking up at a pick-up window?  It’s a reality already at some Chipotle locations in Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Massachusetts and coming soon to a Chipotle near you in Virginia.

So here’s the deal, you can’t just pull up to the drive-thru window, order and pick up your food, like you would at say McDonald’s or Taco Bell.  Instead the pick-up window is designed to do just what it says, pick up the food you previously ordered online through the Chipotle app.  The way it’s set up now, (I can tell you from personal experience) is that you place your order online through the app, then when your order is ready, you walk into Chipotle and get it.  The addition of the pick-up/drive-thru window eliminates the need to go inside the store.  It doesn’t however, let you place your order in the drive-thru line, you have to place your order prior to getting in the line.

Pick-up windows are seeing an increase in popularity; Dunkin’ Donuts added it’s first pick-up line earlier this year. Starbucks also has a similar feature, but not a separate lane for orders through the app.  All orders are funneled through the same line, but it’s still nice to have already ordered and paid ahead of time and all you have to do is simply drive thru and pick it up!

The Daily Meal checked in with Chipotle’s chief digital and information officer Curt Garner, and he had this to say about the new pick-up windows, “One of the problems that companies have struggled with for a long time is having digital orders or any sort of out-of-store order come in and interrupt the flow on the main line that is servicing customers in person.  This drive-thru line will keep many of the chain’s digital-order customers out of the way of those ordering in-store, instead funneling them through a separate queue.”

31 May, 2018 0 comment
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MusicTech

IHeartMedia Approves Bonuses For Executives In Midst Of Bankruptcy

written by Ruben Jay

iHeartMedia has approved million dollar bonuses for their executives while in the middle of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, according to AllAccess.com.

IHeartMedia released the following:

“Under the 2018 KEIP, each participant is eligible to earn a performance bonus in cash at the end of each of the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2018 (the “Quarterly Bonuses”), depending upon the extent to which certain performance goals have been achieved for each such quarter.”

Here are a few of the bonuses:

  • Chairman/CEO ROBERT W. PITTMAN will be eligible to earn a target Quarterly Bonus for each of the second, third and fourth quarters of 2018 of $2,325,000.
  • COO/CFO RICHARD J. BRESSLER will be eligible to earn a target Quarterly Bonus for each of the second, third and fourth quarters of 2018 of $1,325,000.
  • EVP/General Counsel and Secretary ROBERT H. WALLS, JR. will be eligible to earn a target Quarterly Bonus for each of the second, third and fourth quarters of 2018 of $225,000.

Commentary: In the middle of chapter 11 bankruptcy, iHearMedia has approved bonuses for the executives that caused the company to file for said bankruptcy. It bothers me that they are doing this while thousands of their employees might be losing their jobs.

9 May, 2018 0 comment
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FeaturedTech

The T-Mobile & Sprint Merger Might Be Back On

written by Ruben Jay

After calling off a merger in November 2017, T-Mobile seems to be looking to merge with Sprint again. The merger was called off due to the idea that they were unable to come to terms with a mutually beneficial deal, but according to Yahoo, they have found terms that work for both parties. The deal could be announced this weekend.

T-Mobile would have a minority equity stake in the company while having a majority voting power.

Commentary: I am concerned that if you take two lower-end telecommunication (out of the top 4) and merge them together will only make a weaker third option as opposed to a strong third option. If AT&T or Verizon was going to consume one of the lower-end companies, the customers on the smaller service would actually get better service.

28 April, 2018 0 comment
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LifestyleTech

California Could Start Letting People Choose Their Own Driver’s License Photos

written by Loren Petisce

Could the days of having a hideous driver’s license photo soon be a thing of the past?  It’s a possibility for those who reside in California!

There’s currently a bill in The Golden State senate that will allow driver’s to pick their own license photo, for an additional fee of course.  Residents could either request multiple photos be taken at the time of license renewal, or they could bring in their own and request to use one of those instead.  However, there will be restrictions on said photos, so you’ll have to keep them PG.  But could it be worth it?  When you get an awful license photo, you’re stuck with that baby for quite a few years, so it sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.  One downfall though, imagine how long the waits at the DMV will be once people start getting to pick their own photos?  Lord help us all, we’ll have to take 2 days out of work to renew our licenses, instead of just one!

 

 

12 March, 2018 0 comment
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MusicPop CultureSportsTech

‘Selfie Kid’ Is Having A Great Week And It Just Got Better!

written by Loren Petisce

Who’s having the best week ever?  Selfie Kid!  He’s the kid that stood next to Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl, and was able to get a selfie with the star!  His name is Ryan McKenna, he’s 13-years-old and he traveled to Minneapolis with his family for the big game, all the way from his hometown of Scituate, Massachusetts.  I bet being at the Super Bowl AND getting a pic with Mr. Timberlake is something he will never forget!  However, it gets better!

Since the Super Bowl, McKenna has appeared on Good Morning America, Today and most recently, the Ellen DeGeneres show, talking about his surprise encounter with the ‘Sexy Back’ singer.   He admits that he had to push his way through the crowd to be able to stand next to Timberlake.  “I got myself there, I pushed through. I was elbowing people but I got there. I was there with him,” McKenna told Ellen DeGeneres.

Ellen surprised the die-hard Patriots fan by having Justin Timberlake call into the show!   Justin told him that he’d like to meet him properly and have the chance to take a second selfie.  He then offered McKenna four VIP tickets to his ‘Man of The Woods’ tour when it makes a stop in Boston this April.  But wait, there’s more!  The New England Patriots wanted to show some gratitude to Ryan and his family, since they are all huge fans of the team, so they got hooked up with some tickets to a Patriots game and four pre-game passes!

 “I got myself there, I pushed through. I was elbowing people but I got there. I was there with him,” McKenna told Ellen DeGeneres.

Following the 13-year-old’s instant and unforeseen fame, he has acquired 8,000 new Snapchat followers and over 71k followers on Instagram.   Maybe we’ll see him on the big screen again at Justin’s upcoming show at the TD Garden or at an upcoming Patriot’s game next season!

9 February, 2018 0 comment
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FeaturedTech

Jeff Bezos is one rich man. Like, really rich.

written by Ruben Jay

Everyone knows that the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is really rich. Well, he has become even richer!

According to Bloomberg, Bezos has become a $100 Billionaire. Bezos is the first man since Bill Gates to enter the $100 Billion club in 1999. Gates would have been worth $150 Billion if he hadn’t donated so much to charity.

26 November, 2017 0 comment
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Tech

T-Mobile and Sprint calls off merger…again

written by Ruben Jay

Sprint and T-Mobile have called off merger talks for the second time in 2 years.

Here is the statement released by T-Mobile.

Bellevue, Washington — November 4, 2017 — T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) today announced that it has ceased talks to merge with Sprint, as the companies were unable to find mutually agreeable terms.

“The prospect of combining with Sprint has been compelling for a variety of reasons, including the potential to create significant benefits for consumers and value for shareholders. However, we have been clear all along that a deal with anyone will have to result in superior long-term value for T-Mobile’s shareholders compared to our outstanding stand-alone performance and track record,” said John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile US, Inc. “Going forward, T-Mobile will continue disrupting this industry and bringing our proven Un-carrier strategy to more customers and new categories – ultimately redefining the mobile Internet as we know it. We’ve been out-growing this industry for the last 15 quarters, delivering outstanding value for shareholders, and driving significant change across wireless.  We won’t stop now.”

Press release from Sprint:

Overland Park, Kansas — November 4, 2017 —  Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced that it has ceased talks to merge with T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) as the companies were unable to find mutually agreeable terms.

Sprint President and CEO and SoftBank Board member Marcelo Claure said: “While we couldn’t reach an agreement to combine our companies, we certainly recognize the benefits of scale through a potential combination. However, we have agreed that it is best to move forward on our own. We know we have significant assets, including our rich spectrum holdings, and are accelerating significant investments in our network to ensure our continued growth.  As convergence in the connectivity marketplace continues, we believe significant opportunities exist to establish strong partnerships across multiple industries.  We are determined to continue our efforts to change the wireless industry and compete fiercely.  We look forward to continuing to take the fight to the duopoly and newly emerging competitors.”

6 November, 2017 0 comment
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