Redbox is “hoping to shake up the ticketing business, selling seats to live events with just a $1 fee tacked on,” according to Ethan Smith of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Redbox is “likely to offer tickets that might not sell otherwise, such as nosebleed seats for concerts that aren't sold out.” The company will “sell tickets at its kiosks and on its website, though buyers will have to either collect the tickets at the venue or print them at home.” Redbox is “starting with a limited number of events, all in a single market, Philadelphia, where it is selling seats for a Nov. 28 Carrie Underwood show at the Wells Fargo Center arena.” Tickets on its website are “identified only by row and a range of seat numbers, not specific seats.” The company also is “selling tickets for Villanova University football games and NASCAR races at the Pocono Raceway.” Smith notes event promoters are “wary that training customers to wait for last-minute discounts could undermine the value of their tickets” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/4). In L.A., Ben Fritz noted the city is the “second market” Redbox hopes to enter in ’13. Redbox' “major selling point" is a "service fee of only $1 per ticket, compared with the $10 to $15 that Ticketmaster often charges.” Redbox Senior VP/Strategy, Innovation & New Business Mark Achler said, "The majority of what we are going to focus on is the broad live event marketplace, but we will also be doing our fair share of concerts and sports. We're talking to all the major national players (in live events)" (LATIMES.com, 10/3).
