Adlabs unveils Mobile Box Office with Tagit

MUMBAI: After launching the Easy Ticket card recently, Reliance ADAG’s Adlabs Cinemas has now partnered with Singapore based mobile commerce company – Tagit, to launch an new service called Mobile Box Office.


 


Through this new service, mobile phone users in India will now be able to book movie tickets in all cinema halls owned by Adlabs by using Mobile Box Office, which enables users to book tickets, make payment and even select seats using their mobile phones.


 


Users can send an SMS to a predetermined number, download an application that guides you through the process of booking seats.


 


The system runs on GPRS, giving users a seamless and effortless way of navigating content, which is being dynamically updated in real time from Adlabs’ website. The confirmation of the booking is sent directly to the user’s phone in text form.



The Indian movie business is experiencing annualised growth rates of about 30 per cent. In 2006, Indian films grossed about $2 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2004. A PricewaterhouseCoopers forecast expects revenues will leap to more than $ 4 billion over the next five years. About 30 to 40 per cent of these revenues are from multiplexes, which makes mobile ticketing an attractive proposition.



“With the largest film industry and the largest number of mobile users, India is the ideal place to roll-out this solution. The mobile phone is probably the one product that has successfully bridged the digital divide and solutions like ours, help the mobile users benefit from internet services, which were till now the preserve of only PC users,” said Tagit co-founder and president Shankar Narayanan.


 


Elaborating further, he mentioned that the service has found ready acceptance among cinemagoers of another major cinema chain, which has introduced the service. “Our solution enjoys over 55 per cent market share in the burgeoning mobile e-ticketing market,” he added.


 


Adlabs Cinemas will make this service available across its 110 screens spread across 26 cities.


 


“At Adlabs, we believe in innovation and customer convenience. The Mobile Box Office solution from Tagit empowers our customers and saves them time, effort and money, thus adding to the quality of the cinema-going experience.  The response in the first week of its launch has been extremely encouraging,” said Adlabs Cinemas COO Tushar Dhingra.


“Adlabs is a premier brand and we are proud to be associated with them for their mobile ticketing platform. This is yet another milestone in our global thrust to be the leading service platform for entertainment, travel, hospitality, commerce and finance”, added WPP country head, India and Tagit India chairman Ranjan Kapur.


Commenting on the future plans of the company in India, Narayanan added, “Mobile internet usage in India will grow at a rapid pace and need-based services such as ticketing, bill payments and mobile government services will become the drivers for this growth, which will in turn lead to the growth of mobile advertising.”


According to the latest figures released by TRAI, India has already crossed the 250 million user mark last year, much ahead of schedule. Of this, 25 million subscribers are in the city of Mumbai alone. Given the increasing adoption and ease of usage of GPRS, the community of mobile service users is bound to grow. Conservative estimates place the number close to 20 million in the next few years.

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