Why Sports Illustrated Is Rolling Out a Ticketing Site

Brand management firm Authentic Brands Group is introducing a new ticketing platform called SI Tix, which taps into the media brand Sports Illustrated just as consumers are once again allowed to attend concerts and sporting events across the U.S. "We always believed this was a business that we could be successful in, and we always believed that our fans would naturally look at us entering this marketplace," David Lane, SI Tix's CEO, told Adweek. Sports Illustrated is partnering with PayPal's mobile payment service, Venmo, to launch the ticketing marketplace, which includes both a website and app available on both iOS and Android devices. "With live events poised to make a triumphant return, our goal for SI Tix is to disrupt the ticketing industry in a major way with a platform created specifically for fans," said Corey Salter, Authentic Brands Group's COO, in a statement. Flat fees It's the partnership with Venmo that gives the platform its competitive edge over rivals: Consumers who purchase tickets using Venmo will pay a flat fee of just $10, rather than a percentage of the total purchase price. Tickets can also be purchased using PayPal and credit or debit cards but will come with a processing fee. "After an unprecedented year that rocked the sports and entertainment worlds to the core, we are thrilled to be the first media company ever to launch a ticketing platform and are excited to be the first service to offer a $10 flat fee," Salter added. Customers will have the opportunity to not only buy tickets for sporting events, which are core to the SI Tix brand, but also for concerts and the theater. The new site boasts roughly 20 millions tickets for more than 100,000 events, and SI Tix guarantees a 100% refund for all cancelled events, regardless of the reason. Built-in audiences Lane said Authentic Brands sees an opportunity to pass on the money it will save on marketing and customer acquisition to fans. To get the word out about SI Tix, for example, the company will reach out to Venmo's 70 million customers and Sports Illustrated's audience of 30 million fans at little cost. "When you look at the pain points the industry faces, the biggest cost center is marketing and user acquisition," Lane explained. The savings will be passed on to ticket purchasers in the form of the flat fee, regardless of the number of tickets purchased. “It ultimately comes down to price," he added. Lane explained that Authentic Brands has "always looked at the live event space, because our fans go to live events." In fact, it's been developing the new business for just under two years, which means plans for a ticketing platform first hatched mere months after the brand management firm, which is directly operating SI Tix, acquired Sports Illustrated for $110 million. While Lane declined to comment on the market opportunity for SI Tix, it's worth noting eBay sold ticket marketplace StubHub for about $4 billion to rival Viagogo in 2019. Indeed, StubHub generated $1.1 billion in fees from the sale of tickets in 2018 alone. "We think there is a far more significant opportunity than when we started down this path. We do think that the marketplace, in this moment, is the perfect time for us to enter," Lane said. “[B]eing at that event, when the lights go down and the team takes the field or the band takes the stage, if [there's] anything that the past year taught us … there is no comparison." Viagogo Buys Ticket Resale Service StubHub From eBay for $4.05 Billion

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This Sports Illustrated Ticketing Site Promises to Minimize a Big Pain Point: Fees

The marketplace debuts as live events return

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Richard Collings