Benzinga | Jan 27, 2022 08:36AM EST

Vivid Seats Renews Multi-Year Deal With ESPN As Official Ticketing Partner

ESPN Enterprises, Inc. ("ESPN") and Vivid Seats Inc. (NASDAQ:SEAT) ("Vivid Seats"), a leading marketplace that utilizes its technology platform to connect millions of buyers with thousands of ticket sellers across hundreds of thousands of events each year, today announced a multi-year renewal of its relationship that builds upon the digital integrations powering the partnership, with a significant focus on linear and addressable media.

As the Official Ticketing Partner of ESPN, Vivid Seats will continue to provide ESPN users and sports fans across the country with easy access to one of the deepest and broadest selections of tickets for sporting events. Since 2017, ESPN and Vivid Seats have worked together to integrate a seamless ticket-buying experience from Vivid Seats throughout ESPN.com and the ESPN app.

"Our partnership with ESPN will continue to leverage our state-of-the-art technology platform to ensure that it can provide ESPN's impressive base of users with a highly personalized, seamless ticketing experience only Vivid Seats can provide," said Geoff Lester, Chief Commercial Officer at Vivid Seats. "As we continue to partner with category leaders like ESPN, the extension of our relationship is another strategic step in solidifying Vivid Seats' position as the marketplace of choice."

"We are very proud of the long-standing relationship between ESPN and Vivid Seats," said Andrew Messina, senior vice president, Disney Advertising Sales. "The continuation of this collaborative effort is a great win for both ESPN and Vivid Seats and we're excited about the anticipated growth from here."

In connection with the renewal, Vivid Seats will continue to be the exclusive provider of ticket links and digital banner advertising for sporting events across ESPN digital platforms. Additionally, Vivid Seats has launched an extensive media campaign across ESPN platforms to introduce its new brand identity and drive awareness amongst the more than 150M people ESPN reaches on a monthly basis.

In 2021, ESPN Digital has averaged 102.5 million unique visitors per month in the U.S., 16% larger than the # 2 entity in the category and up +12% from 2020. Additionally, in October, ESPN Digital had its best month ever and set a U.S. Sports category record of 120.0 million users.