Ticketmaster Introducing New Resale System, With Many NFL Teams Already Signed Up

Ticketmaster with its new ticket-resale system is "trying to show what seats are available in one place -- both unsold ones and those up for resale -- for easier price-shopping," according to Ryan Nakashima of the AP. Ticketmaster "quietly began rolling out the TM+ system" in August, and "more than two dozen professional sports teams have signed up, including many in the NFL." About 300 events to date "have used TM+, which Ticketmaster says is still in test mode." Customers using a computer "can see where each available seat is in a stadium, how much it's selling for and whether it's a marked-up resale seat or one that hasn't been sold yet." Dolphins Senior VP & Chief Revenue Officer Jim Rushton said, "This now allows fans to have one-stop shopping." Nakashima noted Ticketmaster, by offering an improved resale system, "can collect a fee on every resale." The fee "amounts to about 20% -- about half from the buyer and half from the seller." Rushton said that the Dolphins also will "share in those fees, unlike for third-party reseller sites such as StubHub, where the team makes nothing" (AP, 9/6).