In an attempt to attract teen-agers, AOL Moviefone has formed a partnership with The Loup Network, a free service that provides private voice mail, live voice chats, instant messaging to members and other entertainment news relevant to young audiences.
Users soon will be able to get listings, previews and showtimes for local theaters and buy tickets over the phone through a direct connection to AOL Moviefone from The Loup's entertainment channel.
A wholly owned arm of America Online Inc., AOL Moviefone offers online, phone and wireless movie listings, information and ticketing. The outlets include moviefone.com, 777-FILM and handheld devices such as AT&T PocketNet, Palm and Sprint PCS cell phones.
“AOL Moviefone's mission is to connect people to the movies, and teens are an important part of the moviegoing audience,” said Nancy Lamb, vice president of marketing at The Loup, a Santa Monica, CA, company owned by technology firm VoiceWeb Corp.
The service is available in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix and Philadelphia. AOL Moviefone will pay The Loup a service fee for every transaction made by its members.
Members who dial into ad-supported Loup can navigate to the entertainment channels by pressing a phone key for movie news and reviews. Through the new “out-dial” function, members can press 1 to get movie information and showtimes for local theaters.
“Teens don't have to exit the network and open the newspaper or call the theater anymore,” Lamb said. “We've increased the convenience of accessing movie information to over 600,000 registered teens.”
