Theatre News

TheaterMania acquires WhatsonStage.com in transatlantic partnership

We’re in the news again. We’re pleased to announce that Whatsonstage.com has been acquired by New York-based company TheaterMania.com, Inc. from Time Out Group.

WhatsonStage and TheaterMania share the mission of providing patrons with easy access to theatre tickets and information through their respective websites, digital newsletters and apps.

TheaterMania’s CEO Gretchen Shugart said: “TheaterMania has enjoyed a close friendship with WhatsonStage.com for many years and is pleased to finally unite our two companies. We can better serve global audiences and productions by leveraging each other’s strengths in our respective markets.”

Terri Paddock, founding editor and managing director of WhatsonStage, added: “We look forward to working with TheaterMania to create the first dedicated transatlantic digital theatre media group serving the world’s two great theatre capitals, London and New York, and markets throughout the United States and United Kingdom. This is an exciting opportunity for all of us.”

In addition to their websites, TheaterMania.com and WhatsonStage.com each own and manage large email databases of theatre fans and ticket buyers who subscribe to their ticket promotions and newsletters.  They both operate member-only theatre clubs for entertainment enthusiasts, and each produces a local awards show in their respective markets.

TheaterMania produces the Drama Desk Awards, New York’s annual celebration of Broadway, Off and Off Off Broadway, and WhatsonStage presents the WhatsonStage.com Awards, the UK’s original “theatregoers’ choice” awards, which are now entering their 13th year and are decided across the board by the theatregoing public. TheaterMania has been a proud sponsor of the WhatsonStage.com Awards for the past two years. Click here to vote in this year’s Awards (until 31 January).

About TheatreMania.com

Founded in 1999, TheaterMania connects the theatre industry with a mass consumer audience, comprehensive listings, news, reviews, features, interviews, and video content covering theatre across the United States. TM’s widely distributed email newsletters provide special offers to its subscribers.

In addition to providing theatres with online marketing programmes to drive ticket sales, TheaterMania’s proprietary ticketing system OvationTix ™ is used throughout America by hundreds of performing arts organisations, museums, concerts, festivals, and events to process tickets sales, and manage fundraising and patron information.

TheaterMania produces the Drama Desk Awards, New York’s theatre awards honouring excellence in Broadway, Off and Off Off Broadway.  This season’s 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards will take place in New York City at The Town Hall on 19 May 2013.

About WhatsonStage Limited

Launched in 1996, Whatsonstage.com is the UK’s biggest and best dedicated theatre website, ranked number 1 in the UK by Alexa and number 2 by Hitwise amongst all performing arts websites, and named one of the top 100 arts tweeters by The Times.

It comprises a listings database of some 5,500-plus performances nationwide, as well as unrivalled theatre news, reviews, photos, interviews, gossip, blogs, ticket sales and offers, and lively discussion boards. The audience represents the country’s most avid theatregoing demographic available online.

WhatsonStage founded and presents the annual Whatsonstage.com Awards. This year’s winners, voted by the theatregoing public, will be announced in London at the star-studded 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards Ceremony and Concert at West End’s historic Palace Theatre on 17 February – click here for tickets.