Ticketmaster Case Analysis

Introduction and Case Background

Company Background

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in West Hollywood, California, Ticketmaster is the world’s number one live entertainment ticketing and marketing company.   Ticketmaster operates in over twenty markets worldwide, serving more than 9,000 clients across multiple event categories.   It provides exclusive ticketing services for leading arenas, stadiums, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters.   Ticketmaster’s pledge to its clients is, “To provide the best systems, services, and tools for the optimal sale of tickets to the widest possible audience.   For Ticketmaster consumers, its pledge is, “To provide convenient, secure, and fair access to the best possible tickets offered by our clients.”



Ticketmaster is one of the many operating businesses of InterActive Corporation, better known as IAC.   IAC separates its businesses into five different categories: retailing, transactions, memberships and subscriptions, media and advertising, and emerging businesses.   Ticketmaster is a member of the transaction category, which accounts for 28% of IAC’s annual revenue.   Of that 28%, Ticketmaster brings in 18% of IAC’s annual revenue and 35% of IAC’s operating income before amortization.   Retailing is the leading revenue source for IAC, bringing in 50% of its annual revenues.



Traditional & Online Processes

Ticketmaster facilitates ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing, and distribution through its’ website, www.ticketmaster.com, 6,700 retail outlets, and a global network of call centers. The Ticketmaster website is one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet; in fact, more than two-thirds of Ticketmaster tickets are purchased online. In the Des Moines metro area, Ticketmaster has five retail outlets including three HyVee Foods stores, Younkers at Merle Hay Mall, and the Civic...