Authority Tickets: Secondary Ticket News
Kelly
San Francisco is always a little bit ahead of the curve, in everything from haute cuisine to public policy. Now, according to Tickets.com, the hometown Giants are setting a trend when it comes to ticket pricing by employing a dynamic system that moves up and down depending on a variety of criteria such as dates, times, and opponents.
It’s a practice commonly found in the secondary ticket market that is making headway in the primary arena thanks to the Giants and other early adopters. And it’s only going to gain more traction in the coming years as consumers get more accustomed to a model that is also standard fare for hotels and airlines.
As Russ Stanley, managing vice president of ticketing sales and services for the Giants, sees it, “This is coming on very, very quickly. Within five years, I think everybody’s going to be doing this. Everybody in the industry is looking at it closely and evaluating it. I’m getting at least a call a week about this [from other teams], probably two.”
The Giants teamed up with Texas-based startup Qcue Inc. to begin testing the dynamic model last season and chalked up an additional $500,000 in revenues earned on a limited number of games. This season, they are looking to bring in seven figures worth as they expand the program to every game at AT&T Park.
The Houston Astros, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Cleveland Cavaliers are all testing the waters for themselves either this year or next.
What remains to be seen is how fans will react. For many, their hometown teams are their lifeblood and have been for generations. Getting a calendar and buying tickets ahead of time is part of the annual ritual. If prices can’t be determined in advance or fluctuate too much, some fans may push back against their favorite franchises.
The highest risk demographic is that of season ticket holders. If a dynamic system drives the face value of tickets to a price point below what they paid, then the incentive for buying a package up front is eliminated. So far, that problem has been avoided by keep a watchful eye not to let prices drift that low and by offering additional value to the packages such as access to the team.
“I simply wouldn’t be doing this if it meant putting our season-ticket holders at risk,” Stanley said. “At least half of what we’ll sell all year will be through season tickets, so we absolutely have to protect that.”
Chris Hutson, co-chief executive for Turnstyles Ticketing, has his doubts: “I don’t begrudge anybody trying this, but not at the expense of traditional, blood-and-guts ticket selling. I’ve seen every gimmick in this business and we, as an industry, tend to rely on things like this too much instead of good old-fashioned elbow grease. There are so many variables in [dynamic pricing], and I’m not sure we’ve thought through them all. What happens, for example, if [Tim] Lincecum doesn’t pitch in a particular game after somebody’s paid an accelerated price to see that game?”
Filling the stadium and filling the coffers are two goals that can sometimes be at odds. Teams are now looking to dynamic pricing as an answer to both.
As technology – particularly computer modeling – has advanced over the years, some teams have used it to determine audience analysis by inputting factors like when the game will be played, who will be playing, and what the weather will likely be. A true dynamic system takes that another step further by implementing the system season-wide, year-on-year.
The Qcue algorithm uses similar criteria, while also taking the secondary ticket market’s prices into account, to recommend price shifts. The client team can go with that recommendation or consider other factors and set their own price. The Qcue system feeds into the team’s existing ticketing system, as it does for the Stars and Giants through Tickets.com.
Qcue’s chief executive Barry Kahn boasts,“What we’ve done is create a software platform that performs very high-end demand and sales forecasting. Obviously, we’re huge believers in dynamic pricing, but with or without that, that information is still very valuable. That’s the foundation, and from there, we’re proving value and revenue upside.”
Their main rival, Digonex Technologies Inc., is working with the Cavaliers and will soon announce another NBA partnership. The company sees a bright future for the dynamic model.
“Consumer acceptance of dynamic pricing has definitely changed,” said Rex Fisher, Digonex vice president of business development. “We all have greater access to information, and we’ve simply been conditioned that many products are priced subject to change.”
The Cavaliers added six figures to their revenue line last season, too.
Mike Tomon, the Cavs’ vice president of sales, believes that there’s more to it than just money: “Even more than the additional revenue, dynamic pricing has helped us engage the fan and be relevant by offering them the right product at the right price at the right time. That helps with building fan engagement and loyalty.”
Consumer education is one part of the two-pronged approach to respectability for the new model. Surveys and explanations are being offered, along with the tried-and-true ideal of locking in your price now so you save money.
As more fans latch on to the idea, so will more teams. Tomon continued, “It simply makes all the sense in the world to have a true value-based offering that’s derived from fan behavior. This is coming to a head in sports, and with good reason.”
Showing posts with label secondary market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label secondary market. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tickets.com Signs Contract with the NHL Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena
Tickets.com Signs Long-Term Contract with the NHL Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena Including A Secondary Market Integration with StubHub via MyTickets™
COSTA MESA, CA – January 5, 2008 – Tickets.com, a leading worldwide provider of integrated ticketing solutions, has signed a long-term contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres and their home venue, the HSBC Arena. The renewal of the ticketing services agreement includes a partnership with StubHub for secondary ticket market integration. This new added value feature allows season ticket holders the benefit of reselling, transferring or donating tickets, as well as managing their ticket inventory online using the MyTickets™ interface from Tickets.com.
The contract extension between the Buffalo Sabres, HSBC Arena and Tickets.com makes StubHub, “the Official Fan to Fan Ticket Marketplace of the Buffalo Sabres.” For Tickets.com, it marks the first time that one of their non-Major League Baseball clients has partnered with StubHub, the largest secondary seller in the ticketing industry.
“We are excited to be extending and diversifying our longstanding relationship with the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena,” said Brian Roberts, vice president of sales, Tickets.com. “We’re also eager to bring the benefits of the secondary marketplace to Sabres fans and patrons of HSBC.”
Integration of secondary market benefits for Sabres fans is facilitated by MyTickets™, an online ticket management system for season ticket holders. Tickets can be transferred, donated and resold in a password-protected, secure online environment. All transactions are completed via an instant e-mail delivery using Tickets@Home functionality. Season ticket holders know they have an easy-to-use means of recovering the cost of unused tickets – and fans have instant access to a wide range of available seats.
“The commitment that Tickets.com has to best-in-class customer service and ongoing technological innovation has been a major benefit for the Sabres and HSBC Arena,” said Dan DiPofi, chief operating officer, Buffalo Sabres. “We are thrilled to now offer secondary market integration to our season ticket holders and fans, and are confident that it will greatly enhance their experiences with our team and venue. We look forward to growing our relationship with Tickets.com.”
The 19,000-seat HSBC Arena is controlled by the Sabres and has been a Tickets.com client since 1996, The state-of-the-art arena, which is owned by Erie County, is also home to the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits and is Western New York’s premiere facility for a wide variety of concerts, ice shows, sporting events and family entertainment. Buffalo Sabres tickets are available online through the team’s Web site at www.sabres.com and HSBC Arena events can be purchased online through www.hsbcarena.com. Tickets can also be purchased at TOPS Markets locations throughout Western New York.
COSTA MESA, CA – January 5, 2008 – Tickets.com, a leading worldwide provider of integrated ticketing solutions, has signed a long-term contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres and their home venue, the HSBC Arena. The renewal of the ticketing services agreement includes a partnership with StubHub for secondary ticket market integration. This new added value feature allows season ticket holders the benefit of reselling, transferring or donating tickets, as well as managing their ticket inventory online using the MyTickets™ interface from Tickets.com.
The contract extension between the Buffalo Sabres, HSBC Arena and Tickets.com makes StubHub, “the Official Fan to Fan Ticket Marketplace of the Buffalo Sabres.” For Tickets.com, it marks the first time that one of their non-Major League Baseball clients has partnered with StubHub, the largest secondary seller in the ticketing industry.
“We are excited to be extending and diversifying our longstanding relationship with the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena,” said Brian Roberts, vice president of sales, Tickets.com. “We’re also eager to bring the benefits of the secondary marketplace to Sabres fans and patrons of HSBC.”
Integration of secondary market benefits for Sabres fans is facilitated by MyTickets™, an online ticket management system for season ticket holders. Tickets can be transferred, donated and resold in a password-protected, secure online environment. All transactions are completed via an instant e-mail delivery using Tickets@Home functionality. Season ticket holders know they have an easy-to-use means of recovering the cost of unused tickets – and fans have instant access to a wide range of available seats.
“The commitment that Tickets.com has to best-in-class customer service and ongoing technological innovation has been a major benefit for the Sabres and HSBC Arena,” said Dan DiPofi, chief operating officer, Buffalo Sabres. “We are thrilled to now offer secondary market integration to our season ticket holders and fans, and are confident that it will greatly enhance their experiences with our team and venue. We look forward to growing our relationship with Tickets.com.”
The 19,000-seat HSBC Arena is controlled by the Sabres and has been a Tickets.com client since 1996, The state-of-the-art arena, which is owned by Erie County, is also home to the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits and is Western New York’s premiere facility for a wide variety of concerts, ice shows, sporting events and family entertainment. Buffalo Sabres tickets are available online through the team’s Web site at www.sabres.com and HSBC Arena events can be purchased online through www.hsbcarena.com. Tickets can also be purchased at TOPS Markets locations throughout Western New York.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Suspicions Run High at Ticket Broker Confab
Participating in a primary ticketing panel were Joe Freeman from Ticketmaster, Josh Logan from the Houston Rockets, Greg Bettinelli from Live Nation, Gary Adler of the NATB, Derek Palmer of Tickets.com, Dan DeMato from FutureTix and Jeffrey Larris from INTIX
As published in the July 23, 2008 • VOL. VII, Number 23 issue of VT Pulse
LAS VEGAS — Is it a marriage of love or convenience? That was the question of the day at the National Association of Ticket Brokers conference at the Wynn Hotel.
At the close of the Friday meeting, Ticketmaster officials had put their best foot forward to convince brokers that they would continue to play an important role at the recently acquired TicketsNow, although it could be a changing, evolving role. For their part, many of the brokers were as intrigued by the offer as they were skeptical.
“Ticketmaster is going to need us in the short term,” said broker Barry Rudin of Barry’s Ticket Services in Los Angeles. “They can’t buy every ticket, so there will be a role for those of us who choose to adapt to the new market. We know there will still be a market, we just don’t know what type of inventory is left over for the brokers.”
Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty said his company would not squeeze brokers out of the fold, embracing what he described as a “partnership” where brokers continue to supply much of the inventory, while Ticketmaster brings its marketing savvy and internet reach to more eyeballs.
“Consumers are learning that tickets are always available at a price,” Moriarty said, later adding that before the TicketsNow acquisition “we knew that people would come to Ticketmaster looking for inventory and we knew we wouldn’t have what they were looking for.”
Moriarty said merging the Ticketmaster and TicketsNow platforms created a new tool “that would be very important to the consumer” where he can tell consumers “there’s always a ticket for a price. We want to give the consumers a relatively complete picture of their options.”
Transparency, explained Moriarty, would be critical for the two platforms to work together, a comment that elicited a few chuckles from those in attendance. During an earlier panel on the primary market, several brokers expressed frustration at Ticketmaster’s policy of not publicizing how many tickets are released during an on sale.
“That would be virtually impossible,” said Joe Freeman, senior vice president assistant general counsel for Ticketmaster, explaining that the company’s often contractually obligated to stay mum on ticketing inventory for its venue clients.
“One of our key advantages is our direct tie to the primary inventory,” said Derek Palmer of Tickets.com. Secondary ticketing companies that have the ability to reissue tickets through the primary provider — often through electronic delivery methods like email — will have a clear advantage over brokers who must mail their tickets.
“The way the system currently works, the only people making money from the secondary market are FedEx and Google,” said Greg Bettinelli who is overseeing Live Nation’s ticketing initiative. Bettinelli hinted that the new Live Nation platform will likely feature electronic deliverability for secondary tickets, while Tickets.com is currently working with StubHub to reissue baseball tickets sold on the platform.
TicketsNow CEO Cheryl Rosner said she expected Ticketmaster to eventually develop the means to reissue and electronically deliver tickets sold on the TicketsNow platform, but added the company is currently weighing all its options.
Freeman said the other advantage Ticketmaster will have over small brokerage firms is Internet credibility, adding that “every time a fan comes upon a questionable site, it’s an unsatisfying experience and we all lose.”
It was those calls for change that brought an air of tension over the group, who raised their grievances against a number of primary ticketing issues that made resale harder. One audience member complained that the recent Tom Waits tour’s plan to go ticketless and essentially ban resale was bad for the brokerage community. Freeman replied that Ticketmaster was purely an agent of the artist and had to meet their wishes. Another broker said it was unfair for a team to yank a broker’s season tickets if they sold them to a fan who misbehaved during a game.
At one point during a panel, TicketNetwork CEO and President John Vaccaro said he believed Ticketmaster was attempting to shut brokers out of the business. Freeman called the comment “bass ackwards” and added “we didn’t just make an investment into TicketsNow to hurt brokers.” — Dave Brooks of Venues Today
As published in the July 23, 2008 • VOL. VII, Number 23 issue of VT Pulse
LAS VEGAS — Is it a marriage of love or convenience? That was the question of the day at the National Association of Ticket Brokers conference at the Wynn Hotel.
At the close of the Friday meeting, Ticketmaster officials had put their best foot forward to convince brokers that they would continue to play an important role at the recently acquired TicketsNow, although it could be a changing, evolving role. For their part, many of the brokers were as intrigued by the offer as they were skeptical.
“Ticketmaster is going to need us in the short term,” said broker Barry Rudin of Barry’s Ticket Services in Los Angeles. “They can’t buy every ticket, so there will be a role for those of us who choose to adapt to the new market. We know there will still be a market, we just don’t know what type of inventory is left over for the brokers.”
Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty said his company would not squeeze brokers out of the fold, embracing what he described as a “partnership” where brokers continue to supply much of the inventory, while Ticketmaster brings its marketing savvy and internet reach to more eyeballs.
“Consumers are learning that tickets are always available at a price,” Moriarty said, later adding that before the TicketsNow acquisition “we knew that people would come to Ticketmaster looking for inventory and we knew we wouldn’t have what they were looking for.”
Moriarty said merging the Ticketmaster and TicketsNow platforms created a new tool “that would be very important to the consumer” where he can tell consumers “there’s always a ticket for a price. We want to give the consumers a relatively complete picture of their options.”
Transparency, explained Moriarty, would be critical for the two platforms to work together, a comment that elicited a few chuckles from those in attendance. During an earlier panel on the primary market, several brokers expressed frustration at Ticketmaster’s policy of not publicizing how many tickets are released during an on sale.
“That would be virtually impossible,” said Joe Freeman, senior vice president assistant general counsel for Ticketmaster, explaining that the company’s often contractually obligated to stay mum on ticketing inventory for its venue clients.
“One of our key advantages is our direct tie to the primary inventory,” said Derek Palmer of Tickets.com. Secondary ticketing companies that have the ability to reissue tickets through the primary provider — often through electronic delivery methods like email — will have a clear advantage over brokers who must mail their tickets.
“The way the system currently works, the only people making money from the secondary market are FedEx and Google,” said Greg Bettinelli who is overseeing Live Nation’s ticketing initiative. Bettinelli hinted that the new Live Nation platform will likely feature electronic deliverability for secondary tickets, while Tickets.com is currently working with StubHub to reissue baseball tickets sold on the platform.
TicketsNow CEO Cheryl Rosner said she expected Ticketmaster to eventually develop the means to reissue and electronically deliver tickets sold on the TicketsNow platform, but added the company is currently weighing all its options.
Freeman said the other advantage Ticketmaster will have over small brokerage firms is Internet credibility, adding that “every time a fan comes upon a questionable site, it’s an unsatisfying experience and we all lose.”
It was those calls for change that brought an air of tension over the group, who raised their grievances against a number of primary ticketing issues that made resale harder. One audience member complained that the recent Tom Waits tour’s plan to go ticketless and essentially ban resale was bad for the brokerage community. Freeman replied that Ticketmaster was purely an agent of the artist and had to meet their wishes. Another broker said it was unfair for a team to yank a broker’s season tickets if they sold them to a fan who misbehaved during a game.
At one point during a panel, TicketNetwork CEO and President John Vaccaro said he believed Ticketmaster was attempting to shut brokers out of the business. Freeman called the comment “bass ackwards” and added “we didn’t just make an investment into TicketsNow to hurt brokers.” — Dave Brooks of Venues Today
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Blurring Line: State of the Primary & Secondary Markets
Ticket Summit is the leading trade show and conference in the secondary ticket industry. This annual event brings together hundreds of experts and leaders within the ticket community, offering them a chance to establish and foster relationships valuable to their business. This year's Ticket Summit takes place July 23-25 in Las Vegas at The Venetian.
Derek Palmer, Tickets.com Chief Commercial Officer, will be speaking on a panel called "The Blurring Line: State of the Primary & Secondary Markets" on Thursday, July 24. The panel discussion will enable attendees to learn about the different ways the primary and secondary ticket markets are coming together and the potential shifts on the horizon. Hear about the ways the primary market is attempting to extract more revenue from consumers, how the secondary market continues to provide value, ways the two markets are already working together, and how the line between them is expected to blur even more in the coming year.
Ticket Summit features expert panels on various topics pertaining to the secondary ticketing industry. The sessions are designed to provide brokers and other affiliates with the latest innovations and information regarding the ticketing industry.
Learn more about Tickets.com >
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tickets.com CCO Speaking at NATB Convention
Derek Palmer, Chief Commercial Officer of Tickets.com, will be speaking at the The National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) 2008 Trade Show and Convention. Taking place July 17-19 at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel, the event consists of three days and two nights of informative industry seminars and workshops, as well as networking events.
The NATB is a trade association of professional, full-time ticket resellers. It was formed in 1994 by a group of leading ticket brokers, involved in the sale of sports, concerts and theater admission tickets, for the purpose of establishing an industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and procedures to educate the public concerning ticket-brokering services and to serve the primary goal of the NATB, promoting consumer protection. All members of the NATB are dedicated to the principle of assuring the public that dealings with NATB members are conducted with integrity, reliability and convenience.
Learn more >
The NATB is a trade association of professional, full-time ticket resellers. It was formed in 1994 by a group of leading ticket brokers, involved in the sale of sports, concerts and theater admission tickets, for the purpose of establishing an industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and procedures to educate the public concerning ticket-brokering services and to serve the primary goal of the NATB, promoting consumer protection. All members of the NATB are dedicated to the principle of assuring the public that dealings with NATB members are conducted with integrity, reliability and convenience.
Learn more >
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