Ticketmaster - Early E-commerce Efforts, 1994-1997

EARLY E-COMMERCE EFFORTS (1994-1997)

Founded by Fredric Rosen, Ticketmaster arguably is an e-commerce pioneer. In November of 1993 Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen paid more than $300 million for an 80 percent stake in the company when he saw its e-commerce potential. In the July 11, 1994 issue of Fortune, he explained: "Ticketing just naturally seemed like something you'll want to do in this wired world." The company's e-commerce initiatives took shape in 1995, when the World Wide Web was still catching on with consumers. That year, ticketmaster.com began operation and Citysearch, which would later merge with Ticketmaster, was founded. By the end of 1996, Citysearch launched its Web site and Ticketmaster.com was doing online transactions throughout the United States.

By 1997, Ticketmaster was investing heavily in its e-commerce initiatives, even though they were not generating significant incremental returns. According to InformationWeek, in September 1997 the company's projected monthly Web sales were $4 million. However, they represented approximately two percent of Ticketmaster's revenue, which at the time was more than $2 billion. In May 1997, Home Shopping Network and Silver King Broadcasting, owned by USA Networks Chairman Barry Diller, agreed to acquire Ticketmaster. A main reason for the acquisition was the role Ticketmaster could play as television evolved into an interactive medium between marketers and consumers.