The US Tennis Association has revealed unprecedented interest in tickets for the 2022 US Open tennis Grand Slam, which got underway this week, with the proportion of ticket-holders from abroad having rocketed in comparison with last year. According to Fox Business, the USTA said that international fans are accounting for between 14% and 15% of …
Book Festival chief reveals changing behaviours
Edinburgh International Book Festival director Nick Barley has outlined a major shift in the behaviour of ticket-buyers after this year’s event attracted 100,000 attendees. Barley revealed that a greater proportion of people had booked tickets on the same day, while an outdoor screen and “pay-what-you-can” ticket prices had opened up the festival to newcomers. Of …
PCB to donate gate receipts to flood relief fund
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that gate receipts from the Twenty20 international cricket match against England on September 20 will be donated to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund 2022. The clash will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi, with tickets set to go on sale next week. The PCB said …
SeatGeek raises $238m in funding round
Ticketing platform SeatGeek has announced a $238m (£205m/€238m) Series E private financing round, with Ryan Smith, the owner of the Utah Jazz NBA basketball franchise, among the investors. Other organisations to have participated in the funding round include long-time investor Accel, as well as Arctos Sports Fund and Wellington Management. Smith is the founder and …
People on the move: AEG Presents, SXSW Sydney and more…
Neil Jones has officially joined AEG Presents as a senior ticketing manager after moving on from the Royal Opera House, where he had served as head of ticketing since 2018. Jones will work on ticketing for AEG Presents European Festivals such as British Summer Time, All Points East and Forward Festival. SXSW Sydney is set …
Tech Stack: Mobile ordering, AI analytics, concessions tech and more…
Our weekly tech round-up from the world of ticketing and associated industries… MyVenue’s mobile ordering at Ravinia Festival The fully integrated MyVenue point-of-sale mobile ordering and restaurant solution has gone live at Ravinia Festival near Chicago, US. The 36-acre venue in Chicago attracts 600,000 guests to more than 100 events annually. The installation included over …
Industry leaders call on UK Government to intervene in energy crisis
Live entertainment industry organisations have called on the UK Government to take urgent action to support businesses that are set to be stung by rocketing energy bills this winter. A survey by the Music Venue Trust found that about 30% of its 941 venues are facing the threat of permanent closure without a solution to …
DEAG in M&A hunt as figures reveal 2022 resurgence
Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) has confirmed “concrete talks with potential acquisition targets” in the ticketing space after a second-quarter surge in revenue capped an encouraging recovery in the first six months of this year. In revealing its figures for the first half of 2022, DEAG revealed that income had rocketed by 109% to €133.4m (£114.3/$133.8m) …
TicketPAY-owned wizid.sport develops OTT platform for German league
Digital ticketing provider TicketPAY Europe’s wizid.sport brand has developed a new over-the-top streaming platform for the German Handball Bundesliga. HBL TV, which will provide live coverage of the Bundesliga’s top two divisions, will be operated by the league “in cooperation with wizid.sport”. The platform will be available worldwide in markets where media rights agreements have …
National Cinema Day to promote cut-price tickets
Over 3,000 movie theatres across the US and over 600 UK cinemas are offering customers cut-price tickets this coming weekend as part of a National Cinema Day promotion. This Saturday, September 3, cinemagoers will be able to snap up $3 tickets in the US, while tickets will be available for £3 in the UK. The …