Fandango Buys Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes

Los Angeles-based corporation Fandango has agreed to a deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment in order to purchase Rotten Tomatoes and Flixster. Launched in 1998, Rotten Tomatoes is one of the most influential websites when it comes to film reviews and film news while Flixster is an American social movie site that allows users to discover new films, learn about them and meet people with similar movie interests. Even though Fandango and Warner Bros. have decided to keep all financial details regarding the deal hidden at this time, we do know that Warner Bros. will enjoy a minority ownership in Fandango and will become a strategic partner following the transaction.

Combined numbers show that Rotten Tomatoes and Flixster enjoy about 20 million unique hits every month, which means that Fandango’s combined audience reach could potentially reach 63 million visitors each month. Apparently, Fandango will allow the two services to remain consumer-facing brands, and it looks like the Flixster app will be the first to receive any major changes, as it will support Fandango’s ticketing services in a few months. The company has previously purchased streaming service M-GO in January as well as film clip curator Movieclips back in April 2014. Do you think that Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes will suffer as a result of their acquisition?