Fanatics, the global leader in licensed sports merchandise, and Ticketmaster, the global leader in ticketing, on Monday announced a long-term, industry-first partnership that will integrate official verified tickets and official licensed merchandise in the fan shopping experience of both sites.
The partnership will provide leagues, teams and universities with an integrated e-commerce solution while leveraging each company’s customer database to drive a unique fan rewards program.
As the official ticketing partner of the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, College Football Playoff (CFP), the PGA Tour and teams, bowl games and universities across the country, Ticketmaster provides fans with the largest and safest selection available of sports events tickets. Under the new deal, Ticketmaster will be the exclusive ticketing provider to Fanatics, providing fans the opportunity to immediately purchase tickets through embedded links on Fanatics.com, FansEdge.com and hundreds of team/league e-stores. In addition, every purchase made by fans will also include Fanatics FanCash, a proprietary rewards program which provides fans with real currency redeemable on hundreds of thousands of products across the company’s network of e-stores for all members of the family, including jerseys, headwear, fan apparel and hard goods.
“As the go-to destination for event tickets and the official ticketing partner to so many incredible sport clients, we’re always looking for ways to enhance the fan experience while simultaneously adding value to our partners,” said Jared Smith, President of Ticketmaster. “Partnering with Fanatics in this way is the definition of a win-win for us, for Fanatics, for our common rights holders and for fans.”
Ticketmaster will leverage its extensive reach of sports fans to provide Fanatics the ability to deliver special offers to past purchasers or target new customers. Over time, Fanatics clients will have the ability to offer personalized up-sells of team gear or bundled offers through the ticket purchase process on Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster and Fanatics will also partner on marketing and brand activations at key sporting events and the New York-based retail stores to reward fans and increase awareness of events.
“As partner to leagues, teams and schools, Ticketmaster and Fanatics have a shared responsibility to help stakeholders amplify their brands and grow their businesses,” said Cole Gahagan, Chief Commercial Officer of Fanatics. “By teaming up, we’re now in a remarkably unique position to not only boost event awareness, but to also reward fans, and increase the value of buying tickets and attending games. It’s a big win for every member of the sports community.”
