Tickmaster Near Deal to Become NFL's Ticket Reseller

Ticketmaster is close to "securing a multiyear deal that would make it the official ticket reseller" of the National Football League, according to BusinessWeek. .

The sides "have agreed on the major terms, though the deal could still fall apart." Ticketmaster under the deal "would have to pay an annual fee," likely in the $15 million- $20 million range. StubHub is believed to be "considering a last-minute counteroffer."

The deal emphasizes the growing importance of the secondary ticketing market as it emerges from the scalper world and enters the mainstream through the Internet.

As BusinessWeek points out:

"The NFL's terms are similar to a deal that Major League Baseball signed this past August with StubHub to become its official ticket reseller. That deal, says a source familiar with the terms, required StubHub to pay Major League Baseball $10 million each year for the rights to resell tickets, along with a $5 million annual payment that goes toward marketing for baseball teams. As part of the deal, StubHub and MLB also share the fees generated from ticket sales. Baseball tickets are the top-selling category on StubHub.

"But the NFL deal may be a lot less lucrative, partly because of the fragmented nature of the league's ticketing agreements. Unlike Major League Baseball, which set up a subsidiary to manage the Internet and ticketing operations of all 30 of its ball clubs, the NFL has not centralized its ticket resale business under a single roof. Individual football teams have been free to license their ticket reselling rights, and many have struck multiyear deals already with various players to do so."

The deal could also reflects rising pressure on Ticketmaster to bolster its business, as the company readies for the possibility that corporate parent IAC/Interactive may go up for sale.

Either way, it certainly will pay for the NFL (a veritable money-printing machine) to centralize the reselling rights. If there's a revenue stream to tap, the NFL will assuredly divine the best way to exploit it.