StubHub today introduced a new female-targeted promotional program called Girls Night Out, and has signed with ESPN personality Erin Andrews to be the spokesperson for the effort. In addition to encouraging women to attend more sporting events, Girls Night Out also involves a contest to win VIP fan experiences to one of nine upcoming college football games. The effort in part represents a competitive move against other secondary ticketing outlets such as Goldstar and daily deal websites that have achieved sales traction with women. But Girls Night Out also includes a charitable component in which part of ticket sales revenue generated through the program will be donated to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a support organization for survivors of deceased military personnel. Andrews herself selected the link with TAPS. "There is a growing recognition that women are huge sports fans, too, and can absolutely hold their own," Andrews said. "I went to the Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby this year with my girlfriends and had an absolute blast, and there is no doubt that girls love to get away and want to watch games without their husbands and boyfriends." In launching the program, StubHub cited new data from Wakefield Research showing 59% of women polled follow at least one sport, 35% would prefer to attend a game with their girlfriends rather than stay home and watch it with their husband or boyfriend, and 20% know more about sports than their husband or boyfriend. ESPN approved Andrews' alignment with StubHub, a process aided by an existing business relationship between the two companies. StubHub earlier this year launched a similar program called Mom's Night Out with actress Alyson Hannigan.
