At the beginning, the future of theatre ticketing required somebody to stand outside the theatre. A TodayTix customer could order on a phone, but, for many early Broadway purchases, a concierge still had to hand over the ticket. The screen was modern. The final few feet were decidedly human. That small inconvenience is a useful place to begin understanding TodayTix Group.
- TodayTix brings discovery, booking and discounted access programs into one app.
- The group also sells distribution, marketing and ticketing tools to the people putting on the show.
- Its portfolio reaches into immersive production through Secret Cinema; MARI acquired the group in 2025.
The app needed a person on the pavement
Brian Fenty and Merritt Baer founded TodayTix in 2013, having encountered theatre’s awkward purchasing process as producers. Buying a night out involved queues, unexpected fees and too many steps. Their answer put discovery and purchasing on a smartphone. It launched in New York that December.
The pair had met as children at French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts. That background matters: they understood both the pleasure of a performance and the frustration of getting people through the door. Today, the company’s published values include measurement, shared responsibility and play. The combination makes sense for a workplace whose product is somebody else’s evening off.
The concierge arrangement revealed the limits of a neat interface. Existing Broadway ticketing systems constrained collection, so TodayTix worked around them. In October 2014, American Theatre reported a $10 Broadway fee, including the pickup service, versus $5 Off-Broadway. Those are historical prices. They capture a business solving a physical delivery problem while selling digital convenience.
The customers actually read the instructions
Convenience had another complication: people did not necessarily understand the product. A Taplytics case study described new users overlooking Rush and Lottery, two ways to buy discounted tickets. TodayTix tested two onboarding flows on iOS. The team expected customers to speed through the explanation. The winning variation instead showed the value of giving them more information.
Taplytics reported 59.7% more registrations and 9.1% more purchases for first-time users in that variation. TodayTix adopted it and carried it to Android. The vendor’s account called the work inexpensive without publishing a budget. Treat the result as one reported experiment, rather than a forecast for every app. The useful instruction is narrower: test whether people understand the offer before assuming they only need fewer taps.
Then book.+9.1%purchases+59.7%registrations
Relative lifts among first-time users. Vendor-reported iOS experiment; bars share a scale.
The business on the other side of the curtain
A seat is peculiar inventory. After the performance starts, yesterday’s unsold ticket has little use. The customer wants an affordable evening; the producer wants somebody in that seat before its value disappears. TodayTix Group operates between them. Its expertise combines theatre relationships, mobile commerce, audience targeting and distribution.
For consumers, TodayTix gathers shows and booking options. Show-Score supplies fan opinions and critic coverage. London Theatre combines information with ticket sales. For producers and venues, the group provides campaigns, audience insights and routes into partner storefronts. Its APIs and widgets let distributors offer inventory without building an entire theatre-ticketing operation themselves.
Powered by TodayTix takes that proposition onto a production’s own branded site. It combines booking technology with optional primary ticketing and Arthouse marketing services. Integrations include Spektrix and Tessitura. Producers can offer extras such as drinks or merchandise at checkout. Prices depend on the show or venue and require a quote.
The business earns through ticket transactions and associated fees, alongside technology and marketing services. For a buyer, alternatives include TKTS, venue box offices and other ticket sellers. For a producer, TTG can also supply the machinery behind a direct sale. That combination explains its market position: a consumer destination with a substantial business serving entertainment operators.
The tools address different kinds of hesitation. Reviews help someone decide what to see. A distribution connection puts the ticket where that person already shops. A simpler booking path helps finish the purchase. My reading of the portfolio is that TTG wants a role at each of those moments, rather than relying entirely on the customer who already knows a show’s title.
“Find a seat for everyone.”
TodayTix Group’s published mission
Then the ticket seller bought the show
Expansion took money. In May 2019, TodayTix announced a $73 million growth investment led by Great Hill Partners. The transaction included secondary purchases from existing investors; the headline amount was not simply a product-development budget. The company’s ambition already extended into discovery, personalization and helping producers understand demand.
Acquisitions gave that ambition more parts. Encore added distribution in 2020; Show-Score added reviews that July. Broadway Roulette followed in 2021 and Goldstar in January 2022. These purchases broadened the routes through which people might discover a performance. Broadway Roulette’s current FAQ says it is taking a break, a reminder that acquiring a format does not guarantee its permanent availability.
Secret Cinema changed the scope in September 2022. A company selling access now owned a producer of immersive experiences based on films and television. TheWrap reported a price above $100 million, citing other reports. Producing the attraction adds creative and operating demands to the work of selling admission. In October 2026, Secret Cinema and TodayTix announced casting and an extension for their forthcoming Pirates of the Caribbean experience at Greenwich Peninsula. The ticket company now has a reason to think about Captain Jack Sparrow’s entrance as well as the audience’s.
In October 2025, Ariel Emanuel’s MARI acquired TTG from Great Hill; the price was undisclosed. Fenty remained CEO and joined MARI’s leadership. The announcement described more than 20 million members across the US, UK and Australia. These were members, not a count of monthly buyers. MARI gained technology and a connection to audiences alongside its sports, art and other event holdings.
A cheaper seat still has conditions
For your next outing, the practical distinction is simple. Rush releases limited same-day tickets, first come, first served. Lottery randomly selects people for the opportunity to buy discounted seats. Both are app-only; neither guarantees availability. Check the specific show’s times and claim deadline. These programs suit flexible plans better than an evening that absolutely must happen.
In January 2026, an Avios partnership added another reason to return: eligible linked British Airways Club members could earn on qualifying bookings. Rush and Lottery are generally excluded. The larger lesson holds for producers, too. Better distribution needs a show people want and inventory they can actually buy. A shorter queue helps. Understanding why someone joins it helps more.