Menu
Closing Bell

IMG, Learfield Joining Forces For Joint Venture In Ticketing

The two most dominant multimedia rights holders in the college space announced today that they are going into the ticketing business together. Learfield Sports and IMG College are forming a joint venture in which each company will own 50% of IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions. The assets of the existing ticket solutions arm of IMG College will carry over, including its headquarters within IMG College in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the 12 clients – Akron, Cal-Davis, Duke, Evansville, UNLV, Penn State, Syracuse, Richmond, San Jose State, Temple, Tennessee and Texas-San Antonio.

IMG College Senior VP/Business Innovations Mark Dyer and Learfield Vice Chair Roger Gardner will oversee the ticketing business from a senior management level. Matt DiFebo, who has managed IMG College’s ticketing division as VP since '10, will oversee day-to-day operations of the new venture. IMG ticketing solutions was formed when IMG College bought DiFebo’s ticketing business in '10.

It is not entirely unusual for Learfield and IMG College to work together. They share interest in a handful of properties, such as Alabama, Clemson, Miami and South Carolina, and they have occasionally sold advertising and sponsorships together, but this clearly represents their closest working relationship. Both Dyer and Gardner cited Learfield’s relationships as a 40-year marketer in college sports and the additional resources as reasons to do the deal.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2012/03/28/IMG.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2012/03/28/IMG.aspx

CLOSE