Industry News

Former Ticketmaster CEO creates Rival software

Former Ticketmaster chief executive Nathan Hubbard has raised more than $30m in venture capital to launch a startup aimed at changing the way teams and arenas handle ticketing.

His new firm, Rival, will look at trying to modernising the way organisations manage their ticket sales, customer relationships and security.

“Their two biggest concerns right now are how do I better monetise my fans and how do I keep them safer?” Hubbard said, according to Recode.

Rival’s investor list includes undisclosed teams from each major US sports league, as well as from the English Premier League.

Other backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront Ventures and several more Silicon Valley names.

The firm is building its ticketing firm under the premise that teams need to know the identity of the person who actually uses the ticket.

Hubbard said that Rival will be used by teams and venues to create tickets, and then distribute them for sale, whether through the team or venue’s own online properties or through potential integrations with other sites like StubHub, Ticketmaster or even Amazon.

Recode reports that Rival’s software provides sports teams with the option to make certain tickets digital-only, and upload a photo of themselves to complete a purchase.

When the ticket-holder arrives at the venue, cameras onsite will look at the images to confirm they are the same person. If resold, the new buyer would also have to submit a photograph through Rival.

Image: Josh Sorenson