500 Blockbusters to sell concert tickets

DALLAS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A newly signed three-year deal makes Blockbuster the exclusive physical retail outlet for Live Nation Ticketing, the U.S. companies announced Tuesday.

Live Nation Ticketing is Live Nation's new in-house ticketing company.

Under the pact, which is to go into effect in 2009, Live Nation will sell its retail tickets exclusively through approximately 500 Blockbuster company-owned stores in strategically chosen markets across the United States that mirror Live Nation's concert venue platform footprint.

"Not only will this agreement drive hundreds of thousands of customers to our stores, it represents another step in the transformation of Blockbuster into a brand that offers the most convenient access to entertainment," Jim Keyes, Blockbuster chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"Our research definitively shows that the vast majority of music fans who prefer to buy their concert tickets at a retail location find Blockbuster to be the most convenient choice," added Nathan Hubbard, chief executive officer of Live Nation Ticketing.