ScoreBig, the online ticketing company, has raised a total of $18 million in Series D funding.
In a blog post, the company said that Heart Ventures was the lead investor and that George Kliavkoff, the co-president of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, is the latest addition to ScoreBig’s board of directors. The capital will be used to grow its online and mobile products, establish strategic partnerships, and on marketing. Its Series D brings ScoreBig’s total funding so far to $49.5 million.
The site, which was founded in 2009, allows consumers to bid on tickets by contracting with event producers and professional resellers to obtain unsold tickets at undisclosed prices below face value. The site says the advantage for event holders is that since bidders don’t see the final discounted amount of tickets, their full-price sales channels are protected. This differentiates ScoreBig’s strategy from competitors like Ticketfly and Tickets.com.
ScoreBig claims that consumers save an average of 40 percent below box office prices. The company also said that it expects to more than double its revenue this year.
In a statement, Kliavkoff said, “The team at ScoreBig has developed a solution to two of the biggest challenges facing the live entertainment industry: making live events more affordable for price conscious consumers, and increasing live event attendance. ScoreBig does this in a manner that protects full price sales of entertainment brands, while also providing tremendous value for the consumer. ScoreBig’s widespread support from so many sectors of the entertainment industry and its rapid growth is validation of the company’s role in re-shaping the industry.”