Richard Davidson estimates he has paid $400 in fees this year for concert tickets he bought through Ticketmaster. And like many consumers, he's not happy about it.

"They seem to keep adding more and more service fees," said Davidson, a 34-year-old Denver resident. "I feel like there are a lot of other companies that can probably do it for less."

Indeed they can.

Thanks to the Internet boom and software advancements, more sports teams and entertainment venues are turning to alternative distributors or running their own ticketing operations.

For consumers, that translates into more options, greater convenience and, in some cases, lower service charges.

"The end result should be that consumers' ticketing experience (is) made easier," said Denver sports business consultant David Smrek. "Fees should decrease as ticketing infrastructure costs are reduced and even eliminated."

Ticketmaster is still the dominant ticketing company at major venues, selling tickets for about 80 percent of pro teams and events held at their stadiums and arenas, Smrek said.

But over the past five years, the company's share of the U.S. ticket-distribution market - including college and pro sports, and events at major and minor venues - has been cut nearly in half, according to TicketLife, a Minneapolis-based industry research organization. It now handles just 23 percent of all tickets sold.

TicketLife estimates that, on average, consumers already are saving 80 cents a ticket in service fees today because of the increased competition.

All Denver Nuggets tickets purchased on Ticketmaster.com include an $8.55 service fee, for example, so fans who buy a $10 ticket end up paying $18.55.

In comparison, fans of pro basketball's Charlotte Bobcats buy tickets from the team and pay graduated fees. For a $10 ticket purchased online, they pay $2; for an $85 ticket, they pay $8.

Locally, the Colorado Rockies, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts run their own ticketing systems instead of outsourcing to Ticketmaster.

Their systems use software developed by Paciolan, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that is virtually unknown outside the industry but is considered one of Ticketmaster's two main rivals.

The other is Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Tickets.com, which was acquired by Major League Baseball this year.

Ticketmaster is based in West Hollywood, Calif., and is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp., a company in which Douglas County's Liberty Media holds a 20 percent stake.

While Ticketmaster is still the Microsoft of the multibillion- dollar ticketing industry - with an abundance of retail outlets and call centers - technological advancements have helped foster competition.

As more consumers purchase tickets online rather than by phone or at retail outlets, Ticketmaster's advantages have been minimized.

"It has made it a lot easier for smaller companies to compete with Ticketmaster," said Jeremy Bayard, general manager of Ticket Life.
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posted by ADMIN @ Sunday, December 04, 2005