Broadway 2.0
Published 10/25/2012
Author: Christine Birkner
Author Biography
Christine Birkner is a staff writer for
Marketing News. She can be reached at
cbirkner@ama.org.
Summary
Throughout its history, Broadway theater has been a symbol of old-fashioned New York glamour, a razzle-dazzle experience filled with classic songs and captivating drama. Despite competition from a multitude of digital and non-digital entertainment choices,
Broadway remains a multibillion-dollar industry.
Grosses were higher for the 2011-2012 Broadway season than for the 2010-2011 season ($1.14 billion versus $1.06 billion), according to the Broadway League, a New York-based national trade association for the Broadway industry. However, attendance has plateaued, registering at 12.3 million ticket buyers for each of the past two years. Higher grosses on Broadway likely are due to higher average ticket prices, which have steadily risen over the last decade, from $56 in 2001 to $89 in 2011, according to BroadwayWorld.com, a New York-based website dedicated to Broadway news.
Broadway is still a profitable industry, but it faces a particularly vexing challenge in the saturated entertainment marketplace: how to attract a new generation of theatergoers. In today’s digital ecosystem, with live-streaming, on-demand and online avenues giving consumers multiple entertainment options at the touch of a button or swipe of a smartphone app, Broadway marketers have to work hard to ensure that the lights shine as bright and will continue to dazzle younger audiences.
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