TicketMaster Buys TicketsNow

TicketMaster has announced it is buying popular online ticket reseller TicketsNow, promising to bring validation to the ticket resale market.

Major ticket broker TicketMaster has announced a definitive agreement to acquire popular online ticket reseller TicketsNow for an undisclosed amount. TicketMaster, a subsidiary of of Barry Diller’s IAC media empire—which also runs search engine Ask.com and online dating service Match.com—will use the acquisition to give it a leg-up in the increasingly competitive ticket resale market. TicketMaster also plans to leverage its relationships with pro sports leagues to bring ticket validation and electronic ticket delivery to the ticket resale market.

“Fans have embraced ticket resale, and the combination of TicketMaster and TicketsNow will allow us to provide a safer, more reliable and efficient resale experience,” said TicketMaster president and CEO Sean Moriarty, in a statement. “We are confident that combining TicketsNow’s strong resale network with our audience and distribution capabilities will enable us to set a new standard in the resale category.”

The companies expect the acquisition to close by the end of the first quarter of 2008. The ticket resale market has heated up in recent years, with sales of tickets to big-time sporting events often selling for three to ten times their face value from resellers…and tickets to tween sensation Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus often being offered for over $1,000. TicketMaster has come under fire for its online ticket sales system which, many consumers have argued, is gamed by ticket brokers who use software tools to “cut in line” in front of real fans and buy up large blocks of seats, which they later resell for a profit. TicketMaster itself has fueled the controversy with its TicketsExchange program, which attempts to tap into the ticket resale market by letting fans sell their tickets for a fee, is exploited by ticket scalpers.