SportBusiness (08/18/23)

Viagogo global managing director Cris Miller sees record ticketing sales at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup as an opportunity for women's sport to reformulate ticketing strategies. "The ongoing challenge is to convert the mass global interest in mass global events, such as the Women's World Cup, into domestic leagues where clubs have far smaller budgets and are competing for attendance against many other sports events," he explains. Miller envisions Viagogo's partners tapping a massive global base with access to 50 million event listings throughout 195 countries. He also says Viagogo and similar platforms allow fans to buy and sell at prices that suit them safely and securely. "Viagogo and the secondary market exist for the fans, but create huge value for the sports industry by becoming an additional distribution channel, supplementing the efforts of event owners, venues, promoters and clubs to reach more event goers," Miller says. Various analyses have estimated that women drive between 65% and 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions. "The most valuable benefit for our official partners is the first-party data and customer insights we are able to provide," Miller says. "This gives teams and competition organizers an opportunity to better understand fans and their behaviors, opening up significant marketing and revenue generation opportunities far beyond the value of the ticket sold." Miller concludes, "The governing bodies, federations and owners of women's sport properties have a massive opportunity to rewrite the rule book and create a new model with fans at the very center, and ticketing plays a crucial role."

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