OMG - Ticketmaster inks contracts with 35-plus Canadian venues, promoters

Ticketmaster inks contracts with 35-plus Canadian venues, promoters

Ticketmaster announced today, October 12, that it has signed ticketing deals with more than 35 Canadian venues, promoters and events in recent weeks. This includes a multi-year renewal with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The deals point to Ticketmaster's continued strength in the Canadian live entertainment market, where the company is the country's largest ticketer. In addition to MLSE, other deals include the Air Canada Centre and Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Rogers Arena in Vancouver, and promoters CMG Entertainment and FHMK Concerts.

"The Ticketmaster Canada team has worked diligently over the past two years to improve our service and systems," said Tom Worrall, chief operating officer of Ticketmaster Canada, in a statement.

Competition in the Canadian ticketing market has increased over the past year, in part due to Outbox Technology partnering with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to launch a rival ticketing venture. The Montreal-based Outbox's clients include the city's Bell Centre, performance troupe Cirque du Soleil, and Toronto's Blackcreek Summer Music Festival.

Besides Outbox/AEG, a host of other ticketing companies are also taking aim at Ticketmaster, such as Ticketfly and ETix. As of yet, none of the ticketing giant's rivals have amassed double-digit scores as Ticketmaster has in TicketNews' exclusive Top Sellers rankings.

"In recently renewing our ticketing agreement, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment had choices; but after a careful review we were confident that Ticketmaster was our best partner going forward," MLSE President and CEO Richard Peddie said in a statement.

Following the announcement, stock prices for shares of Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation (trading under the symbol LYV) climbed almost 5 percent to $9.08 at 1:45 p.m. EDT today. As trading continued throughout the afternoon, the stock price dropped again to $8.97 as of 3 p.m. EDT.

Added Worrall, "We are delighted that MLSE and our other clients we've renewed will be utilizing our newest platforms and marketing tools to help them sell more tickets."