Ticketmaster is reported to be offering assistance to Rival – led by its former chief executive Nathan Hubbard – as it prepares to replace AXS in running Kroenke Sports & Entertainment’s in-house platform, Altitude Ticketing.
Billboard reports that Rival, the company set up by Hubbard to rival Ticketmaster, has encountered difficulties with a large data migration from AXS as it assumes the contract to operate Altitude, which runs ticketing at Kroenke venues, such as the Pepsi Center in Denver. The deal with Altitude was Rival’s first agreement when it was announced in January.
Rival is due to replace AXS as the partner at Kroenke venues on August 1. Now Ticketmaster has been brought in on a month-to-month basis to assist on an interim basis, Billboard reports.
While industry practice is that the outgoing partner handles ticketing for any events already on sale, Billboard reports that AXS plans to terminate Kroenke’s software licence on August 1 and transfer the remaining barcodes for any outstanding events to Altitude.
Altitude’s other clients include 1stBank Center, Dicks Sporting Good Park, Denver’s Paramount Theatre and the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo.
Hubbard, who ran Ticketmaster from 2007-13, raised more than $30m in venture capital to launch Rival in May 2018.
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.