Livin' In The Futures: Viagogo Launches Super Bowl Tix Program

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Viagogo's Baker Launches Super Bowl Program

Secondary ticketing company Viagogo has launched Victory Pass, a futures program for face-value tickets to Super Bowl XLIII this February in Tampa. The Viagogo offering is similar to existing ticket futures offerings developed by First Dibz, formerly Ticket Reserve, and Yoonew in which fans select a specific team for which to buy ticket futures, with that future then resellable at prices fluctuating based on team performance. The futures become redeemable for Super Bowl tickets only if that particular team reaches the title game. To date, ticket futures have operated as a very small niche of the overall secondary ticket industry, with growth rates inhibited by the complicated nature of the offering itself and revenues inherently capped by the number of tickets each company can acquire for a particular event, which in turn determines the number of futures made available for purchase. Viagogo CEO Eric Baker, who co-founded StubHub, said he believes his futures offering will be better positioned to succeed by not existing as a stand-alone business. "I didn't start a ticket futures company. I've started a ticket futures product. There's a huge difference," Baker said. "What I've got is going to be supported by the rest of the Viagogo marketplace, and people potentially interested in a ticket future could also be interested in products elsewhere on Viagogo. So that leveraging and being part of a larger portfolio really helps a lot. It also makes a big difference that we've got a real track record, a real brand name, the validation of big partners who have chosen to stand with us, and because of that, people can feel more confident buying a Victory Pass from a known commodity like us in the market. We like to think we've got a halo of legitimacy."

MORE TO COME: Baker declined to say how many futures will be sold for Super Bowl XLIII. Initial rates have ranged from $19 for the Falcons to $541 for the Patriots. "This will not be the last of this we do. If this goes well, as we hope and expect, there will be more major sporting events with Victory Passes." To help support the effort, Viagogo has struck sponsorship deals with the Jets and the Browns. In each instance, the Victory Pass program will be promoted in-stadium and through a variety of media, even as the NFL begins a new leaguewide secondary ticketing deal with Ticketmaster. "We've basically created a new sponsorship category," Baker said of the ticket futures. "This is something completely different unto itself [not covered by the Ticketmaster contract]."