Online movie ticketing service Fandango said Tuesday that its ticket sales rose 28 percent in the second quarter, with purchases by cell phone more than doubling from a year ago.
The privately held company said that customer traffic increased 26 percent in the period.
Fandango said it had strong ticket sales for “The Avengers,” a movie about comic book heroes, during the quarter. It also signed new distribution deals with AOL’s Moviefone and Microsoft’s MSN website. The company also recently signed a deal with Telemundo for Fandango Cine, which caters to Hispanic moviegoers. Fandango Cine is expected to launch before year’s end.
Fandango, which is owned by Internet and cable TV provider Comcast Corp., announced its deal with Microsoft’s MSN last month and its deal with Moviefone in May. The agreement with MSN allows Fandango to sell movie tickets on the movie and entertainment sections of MSN.
The deal came just a few weeks after Yahoo Inc. and AOL Inc. worked out similar arrangements.
Fandango makes money by charging a commission on ticket sales. It hasn’t disclosed the financial terms of any of the three partnerships.
