Ticketek

{{Infobox company

| name = Ticketek Pty Ltd

| logo = Ticketek_Logo_Blue_on_White_-_2014.png

| type = Subsidiary

| genre =

| foundation = {{start date and age|1979}} as Best Available Seating Service Pty Ltd. (Queensland)

| founder =

| location = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

| key_people =

| area_served = Australia/New Zealand

| industry = Ticketing

| products = Sport and entertainment admission ticketing

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| num_employees =

| parent = TEG Pty Ltd

| subsid = Softix, Eventopia

| owner = ecorp

| homepage = {{URL|www.ticketek.com}}

| footnotes =

}}

Ticketek is an Australian event ticketing company. Founded in 1990, the company is owned by TEG Pty Ltd with its headquarters in Sydney. It operates ticketing operations for entertainment and sporting events in Australia and New Zealand.

Other companies use the name Ticketek in other countries. They are unrelated to Ticketek Australia/NZ operations but are a part of Ticketek Pty Ltd/Softix Pty Ltd.{{cite web|title=About us|url=http://premier.ticketek.com.au/Content/aboutus/aboutus.aspx|accessdate=2013-10-22|website=premier.ticketek.com.au}}

Ticketek Pty Ltd sell the Softix premium{{clarify|date=February 2016}} ticketing software created by Softix Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Ticketek) to other countries.{{cite web|title=Softix|url=https://www.softix.com/|website=softix.com}} Ticketek Pty Ltd also own the simplified ticket management company Eventopia.{{cite web|title=Eventopia|url=http://www.eventopia.co/|website=eventopia.co}}

History

Ticketek was originally called Best Available Seating Service (Queensland) Pty Ltd (BASS).{{cite web|url=http://www.insideview.com/directory/ticketek-pty-ltd|title=InsideView Directory|work=InsideView}}{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30902482|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206171155/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30902482|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 December 2008|title=Ticketek Pty Ltd.: Private Company Information – Businessweek|website=investing.businessweek.com}} It was one of at least three Australian operations with similar names (all of which originated from the Bay Area Seating Service (BASS) of San Francisco, USA). The others were BASS (owned by the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust and still operating){{cite web|url=http://www.bass.net.au|title=Home – BASS : Your ticket to experience™|website=bass.net.au}} and BASS Victoria owned by the Victorian Government under the auspices of the Victorian Arts Centre Trust until it was bought out by Ticketmaster.

Ticketek was owned by Publishing and Broadcasting Limited's Consolidated Press Holdings until it was sold to PBL's internet arm ecorp, in 1999, two years after introducing online ticketing in Australia. Ticketek was ecorp's major source of profit.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/07/1044498960392.html |title=Ecorp says might achieve profitability in 2003 |date=7 February 2003 |agency=AAP |work=The Age |accessdate=22 November 2011}}

In November 2000, Ticketek formed a Hong Kong company called Ticketek Hong Kong in a joint venture with the Hong Kong Ticketing Alliance.Aldred, Jessica: [http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/431201 Ticketek Books Into Hong Kong], Internet News, 7 August 2000. In early 2003, ecorp sold its 50% stake in the Hong Kong operation to HKTA, with the venture being renamed Hong Kong Ticketing Limited.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/21/1042911379616.html |title=Ecorp's Ticketek arm to rework HK |date=21 January 2003 |work=The Age |accessdate=22 November 2011}}

Ticketek sells around 18 million tickets to over 13,000 events annually.{{cite web|url=http://premier.ticketek.com.au/Content/aboutus/aboutus.aspx |title=About us|date= 30 November 2010|website=premier.ticketek.com.au}} The company has ticketing contracts with certain venues such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Super Dome and the Sydney Entertainment Centre. It was the provider of ticketing services for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[http://abc.net.au/news/olympics/1998/04/item199804281213181.htm Packer wins Olympic ticketing contract], Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 28 April 1998

Tickets

=Buying tickets=

When an event goes on sale, tickets can be purchased online, by phone, through the app or in person. Ticketek operates "outlets" at major shopping centers, some news agencies, pharmacies and other locations. These agencies do not accept telephone bookings or enquiries which must be made online or by using the national charge by phone enquiry number, 13 28 49.

=Ticketing options=

Tickets can be printed at home (ezyticket),{{cite web|title=Ezyticket|url=http://premier.ticketek.com.au/Shows/Show.aspx?sh=EZYTICKET|accessdate=2013-01-22}} printed at a Ticketek outlet or sent through the mail.

Some events allow patrons to enter and exit using digital tickets on smart phones through email, passbook/iPhone app or website/sms.{{cite web|title=Digital Tickets|url=http://premier.ticketek.com.au/mobile/|website=premier.ticketek.com.au}}

Notable events and venues

Ticketek manage ticketing for

Ticketek also sells tickets to events including the Australian Open Tennis Tournament, Royal Melbourne Show, Royal Adelaide Show and Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

Criticism

Ticketek has received severe criticism for excessive booking fees and delivery charges.{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/3940905/Ticketek-charges-annoy-film-festival-goers |title=Ticketek charges annoy film festival-goers |author=O'Neil, Andrea |date=22 July 2010 |work=The Wellingtonian |accessdate=22 November 2011}} A 2009 review of ticketing agencies by the Australian consumer magazine, Choice, criticised the ticketing industry for lack of competition, insufficiently transparent pricing, and for a lack of information on seat location before booking.[http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests/Money/Shopping-and-Legal/Shopping/Ticketing-hidden-costs/Page/Introduction.aspx Ticketing – Exposing hidden costs], Choice Magazine, 30 March 2009 While in 2012, Ticketek, in conjunction with Ticketmaster, received the annual Shonky Award from Choice for its excessive fees.

The Federal Court in Sydney penalised Ticketek Pty Ltd $2.5 million for taking advantage of its market power following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Ticketek's system collapsed during the week 1 AFL finals on sale in 2018, angering thousands of fans. The AFL was forced to reschedule the sale for the following day.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-puts-ticketing-responsibility-on-mcg-ticketek-20180829-p500fq.html|title = AFL puts ticketing responsibility on MCG, Ticketek|date = 29 August 2018}}

In May 2024, it was revealed that a Ticketek data breach exposed the dates of birth, email addresses, genders, names, passwords and salutations of over 16 million past and current customers. The data was listed for sale on a popular hacking forum {{Cite news |date=2024-05-31 |title=Ticketek Australia says customers' names, emails and dates of birth impacted by cyber security breach |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-31/ticketek-australia-cyber-security-data-breach-names-emails-leak/103921986 |access-date=2024-07-12 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |last=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first=Lorenzo |date=2024-06-21 |title=Hacker claims to have 30 million customer records from Australian ticket seller giant TEG |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/21/hacker-claims-to-have-30-million-customer-records-from-australian-ticket-seller-giant-teg/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

References

Category:Entertainment companies established in 1979

Category:Entertainment companies of Australia

Category:Companies based in Sydney

Category:Australian companies established in 1979