Ticketing on the go

TICKETMASTER
■ Platforms: iOS, Android

■ What it does: The primary ticketing app for the industry’s single largest entity, this app provides mobile access to thousands of sports events and concerts. It supports Apple’s Passbook functionality for select venues and is integrated with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, has a sister Live Nation mobile app more specifically devoted to music. Both the Live Nation and Ticketmaster apps also suggest nearby concerts based on individual users’ iTunes libraries.

TICKETS.COM
■ Platforms: Mobile Web, other major platforms such as iOS and Android through clients’ mobile applications
■ What it does: A trailblazer in mobile ticketing and owned by
MLB Advanced Media, Tickets.com’s ProVenue Ticketing platform is being used by 17 MLB teams, features full end-to-end purchasing and delivery, and is able to integrate other elements such as loyalty programs.

STUBHUB
■ Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, mobile Web

■ What it does: The most well-known player in secondary ticketing, StubHub has made mobile transactions and access a major priority. Beyond basic buying and selling, the company’s app is integrated with Apple’s Passbook functionality, and offers a variety of features including price alerts, interactive venue maps, and social media integration. StubHub is also partnered with primary ticketing vendor Paciolan to provide a full, end-to-end ticketing solution for many of their shared clients, particularly in the college space, in part through the StubHub mobile app.

GOLDSTAR
■ Platform: iOS
■ What it does: This discount ticketing channel is geared toward sampling and casual fans, with the sale-priced inventory coming not from brokers or other fans, but venues and teams themselves. Full search and purchase functionality is offered, along with Passbook integration.

MLB.com AT BAT
■ Platforms: iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle, BlackBerry, Windows

Mobile
■ What it does: MLB Advanced Media’s flagship mobile app, MLB.com At Bat contains mobile ticketing functionality for all 30 clubs, including those served by both the Tickets.com platform it owns and other vendors such as Ticketmaster, with purchasing and delivery directly within the app, as well as direct integration with official resale partner StubHub. MLBAM’s ballpark-specific companion app, At The Ballpark, includes the same ticketing options.

NFL MOBILE
■ Platforms: iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile
■ What it does: The NFL’s flagship mobile app offers links to the league’s secondary ticketing portal, NFL Ticket Exchange, which is operated in partnership with Ticketmaster.

GAMETIME

■ Platforms: iOS, Android
■ What it does: A San Francisco-based startup focused on last-minute purchases, Gametime offers mobile-based ticketing resale in several major markets, including its Bay Area home, New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago. The app operates on the basic premise that resale prices plummet as game time approaches, and flags impulse-buy deals for users, all delivered through the phone.

SEATGEEK
■ Platforms: iOS, Android
■ What it does: The mobile version of the ticket resale metasearch engine offers ticket listings from dozens of other vendors, including StubHub and Ticketmaster’s TicketsNow platform, and can process transactions directly within the app. The SeatGeek app also offers alerts and seat views, and similar to the Web version of SeatGeek, ranks the quality of specific ticket offers based on secondary marketplace dynamics.

AXS

■ Platforms: iOS, Android
■ What it does: This revolves around AEG’s in-house ticketing operation, AXS. Similar to Ticketmaster’s full-service app, the AXS app offers full search and purchase functionality, along with the ability to create photo memory books from events and social media integration. Unlike many of the other ticketing apps in the market, this one carries a presenting sponsorship, with Verizon buying the title rights.