Comcast Going Into Ticket Sales
Ticketmaster will be out at the Wachovia Center and Spectrum. But fees will not fall.

By Miriam Hill
Inquirer Staff Writer

Comcast Corp. today will roll out its new ticket-selling business, ComcastTIX, in Philadelphia, ousting Ticketmaster at some area facilities.

The new venture gives Comcast complete control over ticket sales at its premier local venues, the Wachovia Center and the Wachovia Spectrum.

New competition for Ticketmaster won't lead to lower prices for consumers. Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko said ComcastTIX fees would match those of competitors - often about $13 a ticket.

Comcast-Spectacor is the unit of Comcast that owns and manages the Wachovia Center and Spectrum and the 76ers and Flyers.

ComcastTIX and Ticketmaster will compete to manage sales at other facilities, however.

Comcast-Spectacor executives promise new services for ComcastTIX customers, although some may not be available in the first year. The promised services include the ability to buy not only tickets, but also parking, T-shirts, drinks, and other event-related items in a single transaction, Luukko said.

A parent buying through ComcasTIX could specify only nonalcoholic beverages for children attending a show. Season-ticket holders would be able to forward unused tickets to friends and clients via the service.

"We want it to be a seamless better service, with consumers feeling like we care at all ends of the spectrum," Luukko said.

The Wachovia Center and Spectrum had been under contract with Ticketmaster. That contract expires this year.

ComcastTIX also will sell tickets for the Liacouras Center at Temple University, the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, and the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

Comcast has been selling tickets ever since it invested in Paciolan Systems Inc., of Irvine, Calif., a major player in the in-house ticketing industry, two years ago. Comcast then created New Era Tickets, which sold 6 million tickets nationally last year, mostly outside the Philadelphia market.

Ticketmaster, which sold 119 million tickets in 2005, did not return a call seeking comment.

Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a concert-industry newsletter, said Comcast's decision made sense because ticket sales offer added revenue.

"I'd expect to see them attempt to expand it," Bongiovanni said.

ComcastTIX will also get revenue from the sale of regional naming rights to its service. One example: In Des Moines, Iowa, Comcast-Spectacor manages ticket sales at area venues, but the business operates as Dahl's Tickets. Dahl's is a local grocer that bought the rights.

The first event to go on sale via ComcastTIX will be individual Philadelphia Flyers game tickets, which will be offered Saturday at 10 a.m.

ComcastTIX will begin selling tickets for all Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum events Oct. 3. In addition to its Web site, ComcastTIX.com, the company will sell tickets over the phone and at some Acme Markets.

Original article published by the Philadelphia Inquirer and can be viewed here.