Ticketmaster has struck a wide-ranging partnership with Gametime, providing the S.F.-based mobile-focused ticketing outlet with a sharp increase in primary inventory on its platform. The deal calls for Ticketmaster to make Gametime available to its clients as an additional distribution option, particularly as means to reach millennial and last-minute buyers. Roughly half of Gametime purchases to date have been on the day of an event, but until now nearly all of its available inventory has been secondary tickets from various sources. “This is going to be highly incremental and complementary to what we do,” said Ticketmaster North America President Jared Smith. "Gametime has done a very good job honing in on that last-minute ticket buyer, and we see this as an effective tool for our clients to reach additional fans.” Financial terms were not disclosed, but Smith said the partnership calls for a “three-way consideration” between Ticketmaster, Gametime and participating teams and venues. There will be a data sharing component around sales that occur on Gametime through the integration with Ticketmaster. The deal will initially focus on hockey, basketball, college and pro football, and concerts, as MLB teams participating would require a supplemental agreement between Gametime and MLBAM that does not presently exist. Gametime CRO Colin Evans said an agreement for baseball, if it even materializes, would not arrive until late in the ’17 season at the earliest. But he noted the Ticketmaster deal represents a significant lift in what Gametime will be able to offer its users. “This is a powerful combination of Gametime’s ability to reach that younger, perhaps more casual buyer with Ticketmaster’s broad base of clients,” Evans said. Ticketmaster last year sold about 10% of its inventory in third-party channels through distribution deals with companies such as Facebook, Groupon, and Bandsintown. The Gametime integration will likely boost that percentage several points by itself, Smith said, as Ticketmaster seeks a more open distribution footprint.
