TicketNetwork gobbles up ScoreBig assets
ScoreBig has a suitor. Secondary ticketer TicketNetwork has acquired many of the assets from the beleaguered ticket resale company, but none of its debt. TicketNetwork took over the ScoreBig website and started selling tickets on Nov. 12.
“A subsidiary of TicketNetwork has acquired and leased select assets from ScoreBig, Inc., which went out of business in September,” said Mike Honeyman, COO, TicketNetwork. “The subsidiary will operate ScoreBig.com on a going-forward basis essentially as of Nov. 12.”
Honeyman was quick to point out that TicketNetwork did not buy the entire ScoreBig company, rather they bought pieces of the company. “Under our agreement I can’t get into specifics but I can say TicketNetwork bought the website, ScoreBig.com and other assets.”
“Neither TicketNetwork or our subsidiary have any connection to ScoreBig, Inc. other than what we’ve bought or licensed,” said Honeyman. “The former owners are responsible for anything that occurred before Nov. 12 and any debts ScoreBig, Inc. owes are strictly on that company; we have no responsibility to anything related to that website prior to Nov. 12.”
If anybody has issue with ScoreBig, Inc., Honeyman said that TicketNetwork would have to refer them to the fiduciary that’s operating the entity liquidating ScoreBig, Inc.’s assets.
Honeyman pointed out that all the legal filings are available to the public on the ScoreBig website. They can also be seen here. Http://www.proofofclaims.com/scorebig/documents/
“The ScoreBig team and the assets they developed were of a very high quality,” said Honeyman. “We talked to a number of the ScoreBig folks and we thought they were smart, dedicated individuals. Their platform was well-crafted and they created a niche in the marketplace.” No employees from ScoreBig have been hired by TicketNetwork.
Honeyman believes the acquisition will benefit consumers and brokers. “The purchase is an opportunity to drive ticket sales and distribution and the ticket industry as a whole.”
“It was a good move for Don Vaccaro (TicketNetwork CEO),” said Scot Tobias, Worldwide Tickets. Tobias has been a ticket broker for a long time and has done business with TicketNetwork, which Vaccaro founded, for years.
Tobias also did business with ScoreBig and liked some aspects of that product, including the original premise to discount tickets without identifying the source. Tobias was also impressed with some of ScoreBig’s technology, which is mostly what TicketNetwork purchased, he believes.
“ScoreBig’s website was robust,” Tobias said. “They put a lot of money into technology. That’s what was valuable.” He also liked their interface with Ticketmaster.
As to the fallout from ScoreBig’s bankruptcy, Tobias said he was not out nearly as much as he had feared when the dust settled. He has not yet joined any class action lawsuit.
“The ticket business gets a lot of press,” Tobias said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a company that went out of business.”
Ticketing is also not like Priceline or Hotels.com, where you bid on product. “People buying tickets want instant gratification and they want to know where their seat is.” That, in Tobias' opinion, was the part of the undoing of ScoreBig’s model, but the technology was great.
ScoreBig appeared in 2009 as a way to sell tickets using an ‘opaque ticketing model’ that hid the original seller’s identity. The concept was a hit out of the gate but eventually the company’s plan to acquire inventory at any price to boost its presence in the market led to its downfall. By late September ScoreBig was unable to pay brokers for the tickets it had bought, ceased operations and declared bankruptcy.
