Plex now helps sell movie tickets

Discovery data from Plex users helps studios, advertisers.

Plex, which made a name for itself by letting users share their movies, is now helping sell movie tickets. The company is looking to monetize its content discovery capabilities and expand its business beyond its media server software.

Plex partnered with Fandango, which has been selling movie tickets since 2000, to drive ticket sales from people searching for movies. According to the announcement:

Starting today, Plex users in the US will see a Fandango ticket purchase option on the title pages of movies currently playing in theaters, allowing them to go to Fandango to find showtimes and purchase tickets. The integration also enables direct documentation through Kochava, giving studios and advertisers greater visibility into how campaigns and audience engagement are converting into ticket sales.

Fandango says it sells tickets to 31,000 theaters in the United States. The announcement said that Plex's deal allows it to use data from the Plex streaming service (Plex claims users of the service "make more than 100 million streaming decisions each month"), including "cross-platform ratings and viewing" to gain "insights into audience targeting."

Jerramy Hainline, executive vice president of Fandango, said in a statement: "Plex has a unique view of what movie fans are actively considering, from what they're searching for to what they're watching across services. By connecting these discovery signals to Fandango's ticketing business, we're making it easier for fans to convert that interest in theater viewing, while giving studios and advertisers a more direct and affordable path." We measure for ticket sales.

Meanwhile, Plex aims to be "a place where people can discover what to watch, no matter where that content lives," Plex founder and chief product officer Scott Olchowski said in a statement.

Content discovery is an oft-cited challenge in the streaming industry, with various players, including smart TV OS operators, streaming service providers and AI chatbots trying to crack it. If Plex can use its user data to make valuable recommendations, monetizing its content discovery could be profitable.

"For studios and advertisers, we also create a measurable path from discovery to purchase, helping marketers understand which campaigns are converting," Olchowski said.

The Fandango Plex partnership contrasts with its media server business, which allows users to share their movies with friends and family without paying Hollywood licensing fees.

The surge in movie ticket sales comes more than two-and-a-half years after the launch of streaming service Plex, where people can rent movies. Plex also launched an ad-supported free TV streaming service (FAST) and added social media capabilities to its platform.

These investments give Plex additional revenue streams beyond its media server software. As it stands, the businesses coexist peacefully: someone who just wants to use Plex to host media doesn't have to use Plex's on-demand streaming service. They can also opt out of some Plex data sharing. (Specifically, Plex says it collects data from media server users who are "browsing Plex".)

On the media hosting side, Plex has discussed the challenges of establishing financial sustainability over its lifetime. Its new businesses may contribute to improvements and/or maintenance of the Plex media software. At the same time, the company appears to be largely focused on building the non-server software side of its business.

Sharon is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, writing news, reviews, and analysis about consumer gadgets and services. He has been reporting on technology for over 10 years with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics and CRN UK.