30 Years at Ticketmaster Timeline (pdf)
1976 Ticketmaster established by Arizona college students
1978 Ticketing operations launch in Australia (originally as BASS Victoria)
1981 Ticketmaster UK established
1983 Chairman Terry Barnes joins Ticketmaster
1987 Ticketmaster Canada established in Toronto
1991 Asset acquisition of Ticketron completed
1994 Barcode ticketing launches for Cleveland Indians/Jacobs Field
1994 Tickets for Kids youth incentive program established in Atlanta, GA
1995 Ticketmaster.com launches as a content site
1995 Barcode scanning hardware debuts at NHRA race events in Pomona, CA
1995 First AccessManager permanent scanning system installed for Charlotte Coliseum in November
1995 New integrated ticketing platform (Archtics) introduced
1996 First-ever online ticket sale occurs (a Seattle Mariners ticket purchased by a resident from Olympia, WA in November)
1996 Ticketmaster becomes publicly traded on NASDAQ
1997 IAC/InterActiveCorp (originally as HSN, Inc.) acquires controlling interest in Ticketmaster
1997 Ticketmaster Ireland launches as joint venture (full interest acquired in ‘05)
1998 First portable wireless scanner debuts at ReUnion Arena in Dallas
1998 Online operations merge with Citysearch for spin-off TMCS (until ‘01)
1998 liveDaily.com debuts
1998 Ticketing operations established in Mexico
1999 Logo redesigned
1999 Joint venture in Australia formed with Seven Network (full interest acquired in ‘05)
2000 “ticketFast” online ticket delivery service debuts for Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA in October
2000 TicketWeb and Admission Canada acquired
2001 ReserveAmerica acquired in January and ticketing operations in Norway launch through acquisition of Billettservice in October
2001 Ticketing operations established in Latin America (Chile, Argentina and Brazil)
2002 Ticket Service Nederland acquired for event ticketing in the Netherlands
2002 Acquisition of BILLETnet expands ticketing operations to Denmark
2002 Word verification added to online transactions to block automated system access
2002 AccountManager/TeamExchange debuts for Phoenix Suns/America West Arena in October
2003 First-ever online auction conducted for Lewis/Johnson heavyweight championship for AEG and Staples Center in April
2003 Ticketmaster becomes wholly-owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp
2004 Ticketmaster tickets the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
2004 Ticketing operations established in Sweden and Finland through acquisitions of BiljettDirekt Ticnet AB and Lippupalvelu Oy
2005: First SMS campaign conducted in UK for Celtic Football Club’s semi-final Scottish Football Association League Cup
2005: TicketExchange debuts in November as an event-authorized secondary market site for ticket resale
2005: Ticketmaster New Zealand and Ticketmaster Deutschland established
2005: Cottonblend in-house new media design studio established
2006: Ticketing operations established in Spain and Turkey through acquisitions of Tick Tack Ticket and Biletix
2006: Ticketing operations established in China through Gehua Ticketmaster joint venture
2008: Gehua Ticketmaster to ticket the 2008 Beijing Olympics