Source: Veritix
Outbox AXS (“AXS”), founded in 2011 by partners AEG, Cirque du Soleil and industry veteran Jean-Francoys Brousseau, and powered by AXS.com, and Veritix®, a leading innovator in digital ticketing, event marketing and relationship management applications, will merge. The announcement was made today by Bryan Perez, President & CEO, Outbox AXS and Samuel Gerace, CEO, Veritix at the Sports Business Journal’s Sports Facilities & Franchises Conference and 5th annual Ticketing Symposium.
The combined entity will partner the consumer-focused interface and ticketing platform of Outbox AXS, including AXS Invite and the AXS Waiting Room with Veritix’s industry-leading season ticket management technology and its inventive Flash Seats® digital, ID-based ticketing technology.
“This partnership is about more than ticketing,” said Bryan Perez, President & CEO, Outbox AXS. “It’s about combining the best technology and services to create the only platform in the industry that engages with consumers beyond ticketing through every phase of the event lifecycle.”
With more than $2 billion of combined transactions annually, Outbox AXS will now have a significant market share in North American sports, providing select ticketing services to almost 25% of NBA teams and one-third of all MLS teams, as well as an extensive presence in other domestic and international sporting events and franchises.
Originally launched in 2006 by Gerace and NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers Majority Owner and sports technology investor, Dan Gilbert, Veritix’s innovative and groundbreaking strategy in the ticketing industry enjoyed immediate success managing ticketing for dozens of venues along with empowering teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, AHL, Hockey Canada, NASCAR, NCAA and DI-III College Athletics programs.
Founded by two of the world’s leading content providers in AEG and Cirque du Soleil, Outbox AXS now adds Gilbert to its ownership ranks resulting in a combined entity supported by the resources and global strength of the more than 120 venues owned or controlled by AEG as well as content produced by AEG Live, the world’s second largest live entertainment promoter, and Cirque du Soleil, the most important producer of live entertainment in Las Vegas with 8 original productions in addition to extensive international touring operations. Adding an additional professional sports owner to an ownership roster which includes AEG, the largest corporate owner of sports teams in the world, will grow the company’s relationships throughout the sports world and ensure a state of the art mindset for platform innovation.
The new organization will also rely on other investments and technologies owned or developed by the partners including Carbonhouse, a leading developer of websites and mobile apps for venues, AXS Advantage, a proprietary “big data” consumer marketing platform for venues and teams, Examiner.com, the highly trafficked citizen journalism website and stakes in Gimbal, the world’s leader in proximity services and Bypass, the venue industry’s leading supplier of cloud-based food and beverage point-of-sale systems.
“This is an exciting moment for Veritix and for all the teams, venues and organizations that believed in the value of innovating and evolving the platform that helps them run their businesses and create great experiences for fans,” stated Samuel Gerace, CEO, Veritix. “Our role in this industry has always been about more than ticketing and now we have a partnership that accelerates our vision of empowering teams and venues with the best solutions to drive insights and fan delight.”
Today’s announcement establishes AXS as the only fully integrated platform that empowers venues and sports franchises to run their own business operations while building a direct brand relationship with their loyal fans. The platform provides clients with fully trackable data as tickets pass from primary to secondary markets and from one fan to the next. Through its full event lifecycle solution set, AXS will manage every aspect of the ticketing, in-event and post-event experience.
“Today’s merger was able to take place because we have two industry leading organizations with a shared vision of empowering venues, teams and fans with the best technology, tools and insights, adding the most value to the entire event experience. AXS now has the infrastructure and market share to provide the most complete experience for live entertainment venues and fans,” Perez continued.
About Outbox AXS
Owned and operated by a partnership between Cirque du Soleil and AEG, one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, AXS is a new event technology platform that powers venues, promoters and sports teams. AXS provides fans the opportunity to purchase tickets directly from their favorite venues via a user-friendly ticketing interface. AXS serves all phases of the event life-cycle beyond just ticketing, through its consumer facing website, AXS.com and the AXS App, as well as its portfolio of investment companies, including Carbonhouse, a leading developer of websites and mobile apps for venues, AXS Advantage, a proprietary “big data” consumer marketing platform for venues and teams, Examiner.com, the highly trafficked citizen journalism website and stakes in Gimbal, the world’s leader in proximity services and Bypass, the venue industry’s leading supplier of cloud-based food and beverage point-of-sale systems. For more information on AXS, please visit AXS.com.
About Veritix®
Veritix empowers teams and venues – from the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, AHL, Hockey Canada, NASCAR, NCAA and DI-III College Athletics, and over 1,000 entertainment venues in 47 states and Canada – with the systems and insights that drive fan delight. We understand the needs of those working behind the scenes to manage successful events and we are continuously working with them to create new ways to engage fans with technology and experiences that they will love. Learn more: www.veritix.com
