Vivid Seats expects to reach out to millions of new customers after being named official ticketing partner of major North American sports news group Sports Illustrated.
Sports Illustrated’s owner Time Inc has selected Chicago-based Vivid Seats to provide its ticketing services to a portfolio of sites that have a total readership of around 73 million.
The deal will place the secondary marketplace’s branding, links and content across sites such as SI.com, Golf.com and Fansided.com, the industry’s second largest digital sports network.
Just two months after Vivid Seats signed a similar agreement with ESPN, AJ Machosky, Vivid Seats’ senior vice-president of partnerships, told The Ticketing Business that the Sports Illustrated deal fits with the company’s strategy of securing growth through high-profile integrations.
“We want to reach fans where they are and deliver a convenient, best-in-class ticket-buying experience,” Machosky said. “Partnering with Sports Illustrated Group, one of the most respected brands in sports media, broadens our reach and allows us to offer their millions of monthly site visitors direct access to our brand and the wide range of tickets available on Vivid Seats.”
The integration will allow users to “easily purchase tickets to their favourite sporting events nationwide”, with links to Vivid Seats on the navigation bars of SI.com. Dynamic ticket widgets for league and team pages as well as site integrations on Golf.com, Fansided.com and the mobile apps will be rolled out over the next month.
Sports Illustrated is added to Vivid Seats’ list of more than 50 official partnerships across sports and entertainment, including ESPN, CSN Chicago, the Chicago Bears NFL team and Big Ten Conference.
“The mission for the Sports Illustrated Group is to bring the fans closer to the games they love,” Patty Hirsch, Sports Illustrated Group general manager told The Ticketing Business.
“This new partnership with Vivid Seats exemplifies that. Together we can leverage our complementary strengths to serve the sports fans and grow our businesses.”
She added: “Vivid Seats is a terrific company with a lot of momentum and we have a common mission to serve the fans. This is a terrific partnership for us and the fans.”
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