StubHub Lands Open Distribution Deal With American Conference Home » StubHub Lands Open Distribution Deal With American Conference By Alton Beall 1 month ago StubHub and the American Conference announced a sponsorship and ticketing agreement. (Photo via American Conference) StubHub is expanding its push into direct ticket distribution through a three-year agreement with the American Conference, which the parties describe as the first Open Distribution partnership involving an NCAA Division I athletic conference . The sponsorship and ticketing agreement names StubHub the conference’s Official Open Distribution Partner through June 2029. Championship ticket inventory for football, men’s and women’s basketball and other conference sports will be connected with StubHub’s marketplace under the arrangement. Unlike an exclusive primary ticketing contract, StubHub’s Open Distribution model is intended to provide rights holders with an additional sales channel while allowing them to preserve their existing ticketing relationships and broader distribution strategy. StubHub will be integrated into the conference’s championship ticket-sales operation, including through links and promotion on TheAmerican.org, conference digital and social channels and signage at football and basketball championship events. The company will also provide distribution, pricing and sales-strategy services intended to increase ticket sell-through and conference revenue. Advertisement “This is not just a ticketing relationship. It is a distribution strategy,” American Conference Chief Commercial Officer Bryan Calka said in announcing the agreement. The partnership was negotiated through American RISE Ventures, the conference-owned commercial division responsible for sponsorships, media rights, technology partnerships and other revenue opportunities. American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti said the deal would give the conference’s championship events access to StubHub’s marketplace reach and business intelligence. The conference and StubHub also said they plan to explore ways to increase discovery and attendance for women’s basketball and other women’s championship events. Under StubHub’s Open Distribution model, an organization can continue using its existing primary ticketing platform while making selected inventory available through StubHub. That allows a rights holder to reach additional buyers without turning over its entire ticketing operation or signing an exclusive primary-ticketing agreement. Advertisement Earlier this month, StubHub and viagogo announced an integration with white-label ticketing provider TicketSocket. That deal allows TicketSocket clients to distribute inventory through the two marketplaces while maintaining their existing ticketing systems, branded purchasing environments and control over customer relationships. Inventory is synchronized between the platforms to reduce the risk that the same ticket will be sold through multiple channels. StubHub has also been applying the strategy through direct partnerships with sports properties and event producers. In June, the company became the Official Open Distribution Partner and Official Ticket Marketplace of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. Tickets can be offered simultaneously through the league’s primary platform and StubHub, providing AUSL with an additional channel as the professional women’s softball league expands into six home markets. StubHub also secured its largest festival partnership to date with Danny Wimmer Presents, becoming the producer’s Official Open Distribution Partner across a portfolio that includes Welcome To Rockville, Sonic Temple, Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life. A separate multi-year agreement with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky named StubHub the team’s Official Open Distribution Partner and Official Ticket Resale Marketplace, adding another prominent women’s sports property to the company’s partnership roster. The American Conference deal extends that strategy into college athletics and gives StubHub a relationship covering championship events across an entire conference, rather than an individual team or venue. The conference includes 14 full or football-only member institutions and sponsors 20 sports. It was known as the American Athletic Conference before adopting the shortened American Conference name in 2025.
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.ticketnews.com