Ticketmaster is taking NFL ticketing digital

The football ticket is about to go paperless.

As part of a multi-year contract extension between The National Football League and Ticketmaster, the ticketing giant has said it will be selling the NFL “the first open architecture, fully digital ticketing system in sports.”

Ticketmaster will also continue to run the NFL’s resale marketplace, the NFL Ticket Exchange, which will be migrated into the primary and resale platform on the company’s main NFL site.

“This partnership lays the groundwork for where the ticketing industry can go, and we’re actively building both our business model and our technology to empower content-owners to operate in a new way,” said Jared Smith, president of Ticketmaster North America, in a statement. “This will create smarter venues and give fans an easier, safer way to attend events.”

The deal also means that Ticketmaster’s “Presence” software which tracks ticket-trading, locks in identity of attendees, and provide validation and authentication for tickets sold on other marketplaces.

Sadly, the security aspect for ticketed events has become even more important in the wake of terrorist attacks at venues in France, the U.S.

 

Ticketmaster will also serve as the preferred primary ticketing partner for the NFL, the company said. Which means it will provide other tools and services to each club and stadium.

“The proven strength of Ticketmaster’s ticketing platform leadership and their ability to deploy consumer-friendly technology to NFL fans at scale is what drove our selection of them as our strategic partner,” said Brian Lafemina, the NFL’s Senior Vice President of Club Business Development, in a statement. “We look forward to implementing this new model which will set the standard of what next generation ticketing can provide with a better fan experience, visibility and customer insights that content holders like the NFL and our clubs are looking for.”

The new deal is set to start in the 2018-2019 season.