TodayTix
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Theater ticketing platform
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Area served
  • New York City
  • London, UK
  • , Toronto, Canada, San Francisco and Los Angeles in California, Seattle, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Melbourne and Sydney in Australia
Founder(s)Brian Fenty
(CEO)
Merritt Baer (Head of Europe)
URLwww.todaytix.com
LaunchedDecember 2013[1]
Current statusActive

TodayTix is a digital ticketing platform for theatrical and cultural events. Founded by two Broadway producers, TodayTix's free mobile apps for iOS and Android provide access to theater shows in New York City, London's West End, Toronto, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Melbourne and Sydney in Australia.

History

Headquartered in New York City, the arts-meets-technology startup was founded in March 2013, by Broadway producers Brian M. Fenty (CEO & Co-Founder) and Merritt Baer (President & Co-Founder).[2][3] As of 2013, fewer than .1% of tickets for Broadway shows were being bought via smartphone apps or otherwise using mobile devices, according to The Broadway League[4] - presenting a large opportunity for TodayTix to better make theater accessible to millennials.[5] Fenty subsequently became CEO in 2017.[6]

A beta version of the app was released in September 2013 for customers with iPhones to test.[7] Within three months the app had been used to buy tickets 50,000 times.[7] The TodayTix app was officially launched in December 2013.[1]

In May 2014, the company received $1 million in an additional seed funding round from Rubicon Venture Capital, Ryan Rockefeller, Nicolas Jammet, and Jessica Verrilli. In November 2014, TodayTix announced its $5 million Series A financing from investors including Rubicon Venture Capital (again), TYLT Lab, Scott Birnbaum and SF Capital Group.[8][9]

As of mid-2015, TodayTix began "selling roughly 3 percent of all the tickets on Broadway" and by February 2016, it was 4%.[3][10] As of February 2021, 1.6 million people had purchased tickets via TodayTix, and 3.6 million users are registered customers.[citation needed]

In September 2018, TodayTix celebrated 5 years with a milestone of reaching $250 million in tickets sold. Following this anniversary, TodayTix launched an original content venture called "TodayTix Presents," that offers audiences first-look access to performances from their favorite artists debuting new work.[11]

In May 2019, TodayTix announced a growth equity investment of $73 million, led by Great Hill Partners, to enter its next stage of growth.[12]

In February 2020, TodayTix acquired Encore Tickets and its subsidiary brands, leading to the formation of TodayTix Group.[13] TTG announced the acquisition of review aggregator website Show-Score in July 2020, and Broadway Roulette in May 2021,[14][15] Goldstar in January 2022, and Secret Cinema[16] in September 2022, joining London Theatre and New York Theatre Guide. Show-Score, Broadway Roulette, Goldstar, and Secret Cinema continue to operate as independent brands under TodayTix Group's growing portfolio.[17] In 2022, TodayTix announced plans to relocate its headquarters from 32 Avenue of the Americas to 1501 Broadway.[18]

International expansion

In June 2015, TodayTix launched in London's West End and began offering the first paperless tickets for shows in London's West End theatre district in August 2015.[19][20] In 2019 they expanded to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia [21]

Operations and products

TodayTix launched the first-ever mobile lotteries for theater tickets, both on Broadway and in London's West End, selling discounted same-day tickets via lotteries conducted through its apps. It also features a special TodayTix Rush program, in which deeply discounted tickets are offered on a first-come first-serve basis the same day of a performance.[22][23]

References

  1. ^ a b Karl, Sara (24 April 2014). "TodayTix offers Broadway tickets on your phone". AM New York. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. ^ Huddleston, Jr., Tom (11 December 2016). "How 2 Theater Geeks Turned Their Passion Into a Hot Startup". Fortune. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Tweedie, Steven (1 June 2015). "How two former Broadway producers created an app that solves the biggest annoyance with buying theater tickets". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. ^ Tran, Diep (17 October 2014). "New York Ticket Sales Go Mobile with TodayTix". American Theatre. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  5. ^ MacDonald, Laura (2017). "Connection in an Isolating Age: Looking Back on Twenty Years of Engaging Audiences and Marketing Musical Theatre Online". IBroadway. Springer International Publishing. pp. 17–42. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64876-7_2. ISBN 978-3-319-64875-0. Retrieved 12 April 2021. ((cite book)): |journal= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Ha, Anthony (21 September 2017). "Co-founder Brian Fenty becomes CEO at TodayTix". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b Kennedy, Mark (20 December 2013). "One-stop mobile app offers Broadway ticket ease". Phys.org. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. ^ Constine, Josh (15 December 2014). "TodayTix Stages A Mobile Coup Of The $50 Billion Theater Ticket Business". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  9. ^ "TodayTix Secures $4,981,377 New Funding Round". Xconomy. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. ^ Paulson, Michael (23 February 2016). "TodayTix Makes Inroads Into Broadway's Ticketing Business". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  11. ^ Seymour, Lee (11 October 2018). "Ticketing App TodayTix alunches original content venture". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  12. ^ Spangler, Todd (2019-05-16). "TodayTix Banks $73 Million to Boost Theater and Arts Ticketing App". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  13. ^ Wild, Stephi (2020-02-09). "TodayTix Acquires Encore, The Leading Independent Theatre Ticket Distribution Network In Europe". BroadwayWorld.
  14. ^ Huston, Caitlin (2020-07-28). "TodayTix acquires review aggregator Show-Score". Broadway News.
  15. ^ Huston, Caitlin (2021-05-06). "TodayTix Group acquires Broadway Roulette". Broadway News.
  16. ^ Lang, Brent (2022-09-22). "TodayTix Group Buys Secret Cinema, Plans International Expansion for Immersive Entertainment Company(EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  17. ^ Lang, Brent (2022-01-05). "TodayTix Group Buys Goldstar, Live Entertainment Ticketing Service (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  18. ^ Rizzi, Nicholas (June 23, 2022). "Ticketing Platform TodayTix Relocating to 10K SF in Paramount Building". Commercial Observer. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  19. ^ Ha, Anthony. "TodayTix Brings Its Last-Minute Ticketing Service To London's West End". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  20. ^ Snow, Georgia (13 August 2015). "West End to use paperless ticketing for the first time". The Stage. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  21. ^ Waters, Cara (13 March 2019). "US-based TodayTix in cheap ticket plan to attract millennials". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  22. ^ Gans, Andrew (23 September 2014). "Broadway Revival of On the Town Offering Mobile Lottery System". Playbill. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  23. ^ "West End's Kinky Boots to Launch Mobile Lottery". Broadway World. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.

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