A Broadway Theater Owner Rethinks Post-Pandemic Ticket Selling - The New York Times

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Jujamcyn runs five of the 41 houses on Broadway, and he said that when the theater returns, it will use SeatGeek instead of Ticketmaster.

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As many live performance venues reconsider their operations before reopening after the pandemic, one of Broadway’s main theater owners has decided to overhaul its ticketing practices.

, Is the seat of the musical "Haddestown", "Moulin Rouge" and "Book of Mormon", Friday said it has

, This is a disruptive market novice who can handle all ticketing. It has been using Ticketmaster, which is the main platform for concerts and other live events.

This agreement is SeatGeek's first Broadway agreement. The company is based in New York and mainly works in the sports industry in the United States, but also has theater clients in the West End of London.

"We are always looking for new things and possible things, but the closure has really changed what we are looking for," said Jordan Roth, president of Jujamcyn, who runs five of the 41 theaters on Broadway. "The functions established by SeatGeek directly affect the present, and I think it points to the future."

Ross would not disclose the financial details of the arrangement, but said that he was deeply impressed by the company's technical flexibility and the use of historical and comparative prices.

. He said that in addition to ticket sales, its technology can also be used to allow customers to order food and beverages, arrange transportation, purchase merchandise, and obtain other information. SeatGeek also allows the resale of tickets for Jujamcyn performances through its platform.

This transaction is a coup of SeatGeek. SeatGeek started in 2009 as a listed aggregator on the secondary ticketing market, but it has become an important competitor of Ticketmaster in selling tickets directly on behalf of theaters and sports teams. SeatGeek sells tickets for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Cavaliers and some Major League Baseball teams.

Danielle du Toit, president of SeatGeek Enterprise, the company’s main sales platform, said the deal with Jujamcyn will showcase some innovations, such as allowing customers

Order a glass of champagne during the break.

"For ordinary Joe," du Toit said, "the idea is simple, intuitive, fast, and pleasant."

The closure of live broadcasts during the pandemic has dealt a blow to all venues and ticket companies. But behind the scenes, it has also accelerated some of the changes that have bubbled up throughout the business over the years, such as contactless discount sales and the transition to mobile paperless ticketing. Ross said that Jajachin has not yet determined that paper tickets will still be used after the pandemic.

Some venues and sports teams also used the pause time to rethink the ticketing league. For example, in November, two Houston football teams, Dynamo Football Club and its affiliated women's club, Dash, signed with SeatGeek.

When the incident happened again, many venues and ticket sellers stated that they expected a wide range of security protocols that could even be embedded in the ticketing process. At the end of last year, Ticketmaster stated

Implement the plan, such as confirming the customer's vaccination status through a third-party smartphone app. A Ticketmaster spokeswoman said this week that the company is still waiting for federal and state guidance on reopening. Ticketmaster said on Friday that it had no comment on the loss of Jujamcyn as a customer.

Du Toit said that the slowdown in events gave SeatGeek the opportunity to develop various functions in the Jujamcyn transaction.

She said: "We use this downtime to study our technology more deeply."

"Book of Mormon", "Haddestown" and "Moulin Rouge!" Before the pandemic, they all sold very well and plan to return to the market after the theater reopens. The other two musicals "Frozen" and "Despicable Girl" in Jujamcyn Theater have announced that they will not resume performances after the pandemic, so the company has two vacant houses to fill.

SeatGeek became the third-largest ticketing service provider on Broadway; many theaters use Telecharge, which is owned by Shubert, the largest host on Broadway; and Jujamcyn used Telecharge before switching to Ticketmaster in 2016. Ticketmaster continues to work with Nederlander Organization, another major Broadway host. Of course, many consumers do not buy tickets through major ticket sellers. They sell directly online and at the box office, but through brokers, resellers or intermediaries such as TKTS and TodayTix.

The average ticket price on Broadway last season was $121. It is not clear whether prices will change when Broadway reopens, although many producers expect the premium to be reduced (these are the highest fare tickets for the most popular shows; for example, before the pandemic "Hamilton" regularly sells many of its seats at a premium ( At least $847), at least in the short term, because the industry is seeking to rebuild.