Ticketron
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Ticketing services |
| Founded | May 4, 1965 |
| Founder | Edgar Bronfman Sr. (investor), Clayton B. Hulsh (original Ticketron) |
| Defunct | 1990 |
| Fate | Assets sold to The Carlyle Group in 1990; acquired by Ticketmaster in 1991 |
| Headquarters | New York , United States |
Key people | Jack Quinn (president), Thomas W. Moore (chairman) |
| Products | Computerized ticketing services for events, parimutuel wagering terminals, lottery ticketing systems |
| Owner | Control Data Corporation (majority owner from 1969, full owner from 1973) |
| Website | ticketron |
Ticket Reservations Systems, Inc (TRS), known commercially as Ticketron, was a prominent computerized ticketing service for events from the 1960s until 1990, when it was surpassed by Ticketmaster. In 1990, the majority of Ticketron’s assets were sold and subsequently acquired by Ticketmaster in 1991.
History
Founded on May 4, 1965, and headquartered in New York, TRS received funding from Cemp Investments, under the leadership of Edgar Bronfman Sr.. Jack Quinn assumed the role of president, and the company initiated ticket sales in May 1967 through six Alexander's retail locations in New York and New Jersey. This operation utilized a duplexed Control Data Corporation CDC 1700 computer system with terminals marketed as "electronic box offices." The original Ticketron, established in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1967 by Clayton B. Hulsh, failed that same year. TRS acquired the Ticketron name in July 1969 and adopted it for its services.
The software ran on two CDC 1700 computers housed at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, supported by backup power systems to ensure uninterrupted operation. This setup effectively eliminated the risk of double-booking event seats. Ticketron expanded its terminal presence to include banks and department stores.
In 1969, Control Data Corp. acquired a 51% stake in TRS for $3.9 million, while the Bronfman family maintained a 25% share. Former ABC television executive Thomas W. Moore was appointed chairman. After competitor Computicket ceased operations in April 1970, Ticketron became the sole computerized ticketing provider in the United States. Control Data Corp gained full ownership of TRS in 1973. In 1979, Ticketron introduced telephone-based ticket sales.
Beyond event ticketing services, Ticketron provided terminals and infrastructure for parimutuel wagering and managed ticketing systems for multiple US state lotteries, including those in New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, and Maryland.
By the mid-1980s, Ticketron operated approximately 600 outlets across 22 states in the US and Canada. By 1990, this number had increased to 750 locations with a market share of about 40%, trailing behind Ticketmaster’s 50%. That year, The Carlyle Group acquired most of Ticketron’s assets—excluding a minor antitrust exception for The Shubert Organization's Telecharge unit—and subsequently sold them to Ticketmaster in 1991.
New company
In 2017, following its divestiture by Ticketmaster, the Ticketron name was relaunched as an online ticketing platform under the domain Ticketron.com.