REDMOND, Wash., July 11, 2002 — The MSN®
network of Internet services and Ticketmaster, the world’s leading ticketing and access company, today introduced MSN Tickets with Ticketmaster ( http://tickets.msn.com /), a single destination that will offer consumers convenient access to Ticketmaster’s extensive inventory of tickets to concerts, theater, sporting events and performing arts at more than 5,000 venues nationally. As part of the deal, MSN Tickets will host exclusive presale promotions, giving MSN users access to tickets in advance of the general public for popular events throughout the year.
“Ticketmaster and MSN together combine the strength of the world’s largest ticketing company with unmatched leadership in technology and consumer reach to offer users one-stop access to tickets for more than 350,000 events nationwide,” said John Pleasants, president and CEO of Ticketmaster. “We have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with MSN over the past several years and believe that it will continue to be a fundamental part of our future as we continue to strive to deliver new and innovative ticketing solutions to consumers online.”
This comprehensive online ticketing solution is deeply integrated across the MSN network, taking advantage of up-to-date content from MSN Entertainment and MSN Music to provide consumers with additional information about the events they are looking for, including tour schedules, concert listings, album promotions and artist information. In addition, with MSN Music’s innovative SoundsLike technology, music fans can search for concerts that fit their musical preferences based on attributes such as mood, tempo and vocals.
“We are very excited about working with Ticketmaster to bring consumers the most robust ticketing and event resource on the Web,” said Richard Bray, vice president of MSN. “The continued growth of MSN and the breadth of our consumer reach makes us a valuable partner and enables us to forge relationships with industry leaders like Ticketmaster to deliver superior online services to consumers.”
To take full advantage of the services MSN Tickets with Ticketmaster provides, consumers can personalize their ticketing experience. MSN Tickets allows consumers to search for entertainment events based on a desired date, artist, team or venue. With Microsoft .NET Passport, searches can be automatically set to locate ticketing inventory and event information based on the proximity to the customer’s ZIP code. Future enhancements will include .NET Alerts, which will immediately notify customers by e-mail when their favorite artists are on tour.
About Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster (Nasdaq “TMCS”), the world’s leading ticketing and access company, sold 86.7 million tickets in 2001, valued at more than $3.6 billion, through approximately 3,300 retail Ticket Center outlets; 20 worldwide telephone call centers; and http://www.ticketmaster.com/. Ticketmaster serves more than 7,000 clients worldwide, acts as the exclusive ticketing service for hundreds of leading arenas, stadiums, performing arts venues, and theaters, and is the official ticketing provider and supporter of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The company also operates Match.com, a leading subscription-based online dating site; Citysearch, a leading online local network enabling people to get the most out of their city; and ReserveAmerica, the No. 1 access point for outdoor recreation. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Ticketmaster is majority owned by USA Interactive (Nasdaq “USAI”).
About MSN
MSN attracts more than 270 million unique users worldwide per month. Globally available in 34 markets and 18 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ . MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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