eBay and AEG today announced that they have signed a deal for a global partnership to create multiple venue sponsorships and technology integrations. Beginning in the first quarter of ‘13, StubHub will become the exclusive secondary ticketing source for AEG venues and AEG’s AXS Ticketing. StubHub also will serve as the official secondary ticketing partner of Staples Center, the NHL Kings and the MLS Galaxy starting with the ‘13-14 season for each franchise. The deal could reach a number of major venues across Europe as StubHub continues to expand internationally. In addition, PayPal will become one of AXS Ticketing's new methods of payment. StubHub will become the official Fan-to-Fan Ticket Marketplace for more than 30 AEG facilities worldwide, including Staples Center. Beginning in January ‘13, StubHub will be designated as one of 11 Founding Partners of Staples Center, receiving a variety of customized signage and activation components including prominent interior and outdoor marquee signage, in-game/event branding elements and enhanced online presence (eBay/AEG).
GOING GLOBAL: The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Smith & Bensinger write the deal marks the “latest attempt by the live-event industry to capture the sky-high prices sometimes commanded by scalpers and other third parties.” AEG will “collect an unspecified share of revenue … on transactions originating on its websites” from StubHub’s commissions. AEG President of Digital, Ticketing & Media Bryan Perez said that it “remained to be determined whether AEG's revenue from StubHub sales would be considered part of a concert's gross, a sum that is often the primary basis for a concert performer's compensation.” Perez said, "That's something we're trying to figure out.” eBay President of Global Marketplaces Devin Wenig said, "Today, StubHub is largely a domestic U.S. business. This is a significant move to globalize StubHub." Smith & Bensinger note AEG and eBay “plan perhaps to buy startups together and to create new technologies” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/12).
TICKET PRICE: In N.Y., Claire Atkinson reports AEG, which “put itself up for sale in September, is looking to fetch as much as $10 billion.” Sources said that Blackstone Group, which “handled the sale of the LA Dodgers earlier this year, is getting ready to release a sale book.” AEG so far has “only put out a ‘pictorial’ sales brochure.” Investment firm Colony Capital “has been floated as a potential bidder, with sources speculating the firm has backing from a Qatar sovereign wealth fund” (N.Y. POST, 11/12).
