Secondary ticketing service StubHub has partnered with London’s O2 arena to become the venue’s official ticket re-sale vendor.
Effective immediately, the deal sees The O2’s primary ticketing platform AXS.com become fully integrated with StubHub’s ticket reselling platform. As a result, all tickets for O2 music, sporting and entertainment events, purchased through StubHub, will see the original ticket validated and cancelled, following which a new ticket and barcode in the buyer’s name will be issued and made available for instant download. It is understood that AEG, which own and operate the 20,000-capacity O2, will take a cut of buyer and seller commissions.
The partnership between eBay-owned StubHub and AEG-owned The O2, is billed as the first deal of its kind in the United Kingdom between a leading entertainment venue and secondary ticketing service. It follows a global multi-year partnership between eBay Inc. and AEG Worldwide signed in November 2012, which includes ticketing platform integration and marketing assets with AEG venues across the world, including Los Angeles’ Staples Center and official partnerships with major sports clubs including the LA Galaxy and LA Kings.
In March, StubHub announced it will take over naming rights for Los Angeles’ Home Depot Center, which from June will be known as StubHub Center.
Commenting on the deal, Rebecca Kane, The O2 general manager said in a statement: “By partnering with StubHub we are working with a resale marketplace that has a proven pedigree in serving fans and providing an innovative service for our customers. Integrating our own ticketing platform means that fans can buy in confidence and enjoy the best in live entertainment at The O2.”
Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, general manager, international, StubHub added: “With more than 8.6 million visitors every year, The O2 is the most popular venue in the world and we know that there is high demand for events there amongst our customers. We also know that a high proportion of these are visitors from abroad and with an increasingly percentage of our sales comings from cross border trade we know that we can offer these fans a service that guarantees peace of mind.”
London’s The O2 is the highest grossing arena in the world, with $108 million in 2012, per Billboard Boxscore, and has won Top Arena at the Billboard Touring Awards for four consecutive years.
Having first launched in the U.S. in 2000, StubHub launched in the U.K in late 2011. Earlier this year, eBay closed its ticket reselling category, instead directing customers towards StubHub. [Billboard.biz]
