Fandango, Why are they the only one?

I never purchase tickets via fandango, but always use the fandango iPhone app to check for the latest showtimes.

I wonder why aren’t there other competitors in this space? It seems to me that if I were a movie theater I would want to build my own web page with showtimes, and a way to purchase tickets ahead of time. I’d also build a mobile app for people to check times and purchase tickets. Why outsource this to another vendor? If I were the theater company I wouldn’t even charge an additional fee for purchasing online. If anything this would save money, the line would be shorter, and I would only need one sales person at the ticket counter instead of two or three. Employees are expensive.

Ok, so it is an outsourced service. Why is there only one company providing this service? Why are their fees so high? Does Fandango have some exclusive contract with every movie theater company?

Why couldn’t another third party compete in this space, have lower fees, and even a more streamlined process for admittance into the theater once you arrive (? Barcode scan your phone like they do at the airport).

Hmmm