The interaction between the technology available in mobile devices and the sport entertainment world is ever-growing, and there’s a new marriage between these two; a subscription service for Oregon State tickets.
In what Oregon State University is calling college athletics’ first on-demand ticket, Beavers athletics is mimicking the subscription service model that has made so many e-businesses successful in other industries with the Squad app for Android and iOS.
Oregon State Tickets On-Sale in Revolutionary Way
Currently the subscriptions are only available to recent graduates, defined as 1-10 years post-grad. Oregon State is also capping the program at 300 subscriptions as they roll out the product.
Beaver alumni have an option of paying either $19.99 per month or $239 annually for access to any of the sporting events that Oregon State normally issues more traditional tickets for. This includes but isn’t limited to football and men’s basketball. There are no minimums or maximums when it comes to number of games that a subscriber can attend, and subscribers also have limited choice of seating.
The possibilities for Squad after the initial rollout period are enticing. The press release mentions a “first opportunity to upgrade,” meaning that Beaver athletics already has plans to further monetize the digital space and provide consumers with further options.
These upgrades could include premium seating, fan experiences like meeting Oregon State athletic icons or current athletes, and suite rentals. The next steps for the program as a whole are more obvious.
If the rollout period is successful, the Beavers will take off the cap of 300 subscriptions and open it to all recent alumni. Should demand for the app continue, it’s likely that Oregon State will then expand access to all graduates. From there, the possibility is that the Beavers could open Squad up to the general public, but that’s not as certain.
Allowing anyone and everyone interested in Squad to purchase a subscription might be beneficial to maximizing the subscriber base, but it also might not fit with the vision that Oregon State has for the service. If the Beavers are set on it being a residual benefit that they afford their alumni, then opening Squad up to the general public doesn’t make sense.
Additionally, opening up the service to the general public increases the likelihood of “seat potatoes” using the service. Like “couch potatoes,” seat potatoes are game attendees who never leave their seats during the course of the athletic contest, dropping the profitability of the event by not purchasing beverages, food or merchandise.
The history of college athletics has shown time and time again that if it makes cents, it makes sense, however. Another way that we can expect Oregon State to monetize Squad is by selling digital advertising space, so don’t be surprised if at some point Squad has a corporate sponsor. Eventually the Beavers could integrate beverage and food ordering, merchandise sales and in-game seat upgrades into Squad as well.
The college athletics world at large will be watching how Squad does in the coming months, and if it’s a roaring success, expect other universities and perhaps even some other leagues to sell their tickets on a subscription basis via mobile devices.
