Ticketmaster and Disney Companies sign exclusive agreement

Business Wire, Jan 7, 1997

LOS ANGELES, CA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1997--

Four-Year Agreement Covers Disney Sports Teams and Facilities and

Select Theaters

For Ticketing Through Telephone, Outlets, and Internet

Ticketmaster Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TKTM) announced today that it has entered into a four-year agreement with subsidiaries and affiliates of the Walt Disney Company to be the exclusive off-site ticketing company for Disney sports teams and facilities and select Disney theaters. The agreement covers ticketing through telephone call centers nationwide, retail ticket center outlets and the Internet.

Currently included under the agreement are the Anaheim Angels baseball team; the Mighty Ducks hockey team; Broadway's famed New Amsterdam Theater, which will host the world premiere of The Lion King stage show in November 1997; the Chicago Theatre, which will debut Disney's Beauty and the Beast in October 1997; and the Walt Disney World Sports Facilities complex in Orlando, Florida, scheduled to open in May 1997.

"This is an important strategic agreement for Ticketmaster that builds on a strong existing relationship with Disney since 1993," said Fredric D. Rosen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ticketmaster. "The Ticketmaster system now handles approximately 250,000 tickets a year for the Angels and the Ducks. We expect to sell at least one million additional tickets a year under the aegis of this agreement --demonstrating our commitment and ability to provide state-of-the-art off-site ticketing for one of the world's largest and most sophisticated entertainment companies."

Ticketmaster is the world's leading computerized ticketing service, selling nearly 60 million tickets a year through over 2,500 retail ticket center outlets; 17 nationwide telephone call centers; licensees; client box offices; and its Internet site. Ticketmaster serves more than 3,500 clients in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia. The company provides ticketing for 73 professional sports franchises and hundreds of leading arenas, stadiums, performing arts venues, and theaters. Clients receive comprehensive ticket inventory control and management, broad distribution, and dedicated marketing and support services. The public receives convenient access to tickets for more than 150,000 events a year, including a broad range of concerts, sports, family entertainment, performing arts, and movies.

CONTACT: George Sard/Debbie Miller

Sard Verbinnen & Co., (212) 687-8080

or

Larry Solters/Bonnie Poindexter

Scoop Marketing, (213) 381-2277