The Media Financial Management Association (MFM) has turned to the CFO of the entity that is a majority owner of the highly troubled cinema subscription service MoviePass Inc. and the VP/Finance for Hearst Corporation in selecting its co-chairs for the Media Outlook 2019 conference.
The co-chairs of this year’s event, to be held the morning of Wednesday, September 12, are Helios & Matheson Analytics CFO Stuart Benson and Hearst’s Jeana Stanley.
The Media Outlook 2019 event runs from 8am-Noon on that Wednesday and will be held at the offices of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, across from Rockefeller Plaza’s west side in Midtown Manhattan. Access via the B, D, E, F and M Subway lines is on the corner.
The educational seminar aims to address the top challenges and opportunities facing media companies in the coming year.
“A number of developments on the technological, regulatory, consumer, and economic fronts will pose new challenges as well as new opportunities for traditional and emerging media enterprises,” said Mary M. Collins, President/CEO of MFM and BCCA, the media industry’s credit association. “With the help of our event co-chairs Jeana Stanley and Stuart Benson, Media Outlook 2019 will feature a lineup of sessions and expert presenters to provide the latest insights on how media businesses can offer competitive solutions for creating, delivering and monetizing content in the year ahead.”
Helios & Matheson shares are trading on August 15 at $0.05. On July 29, the stock was trading at $27. The remarkable tumble in share value is tied to Moviepass, which has sought to change its rules from one daily visit to the theater for subscribers to a monthly capped limit that is much smaller in value. This was precipitated by a business model that saw Helios & Matheson trim Moviepass’ monthly subscription fee from $50 to $9.95 while arguing that the user data it collects is where the growth opportunities lay.
This revenue model failed, analysts told MarketWatch on July 27, when Helios and Matheson shares were at $2 and falling fast. A poor Q2 earnings report delivered Tuesday (8/14) hastened the stock’s more disconcerting downfall: Helios and Matheson reported a net loss of $83.7 million on revenue of $74.2 million in the quarter ended June 30.
MFM is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. Media Outlook 2019 attendees will be eligible to earn up to four (4) CPE credits.
More information concerning the event may be online at www.mediafinance.org/media-outlook.
