The Ticketmaster for BlackBerry application is now live and available as a free download in BlackBerry App World.

The application provides fans with convenient on-the-go access to browse and search through thousands of live entertainment events and buy tickets directly from their BlackBerry smartphones from Research In Motion. The goal was to provide secure mobile commerce and easy navigation.

"We believe mobile will become a significant new sales and marketing channel for Ticketmaster over time with the growing adoption of smartphones," said Greg Consiglio, senior vice president of business development for Ticketmaster, West Hollywood, CA. "RIM is a leader in this space and our partnership with them will help us to grow this channel together.

"We want to make it really easy for consumers to search for and purchase tickets to their favorite live events from their BlackBerry," he said.

As the world's leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company, Ticketmaster operates in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through http://www.ticketmaster.com, one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet; approximately 7,100 retail outlets; and 17 worldwide call centers.

In 2008, the company sold more than 141 million tickets valued at more than $8.9 billion on behalf of its clients.

Consumers can get the Ticketmaster application for BlackBerry by downloading BlackBerry App World using their BlackBerry browser.

Ticketmaster is a featured application, on the front page carousel, on BlackBerry App World, which consumers can click on to download the application

Alternatively, consumers can visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/blackberry from their PC, enter their email address and download the application from the link emailed to their BlackBerry smartphone.

"The target demographic is all fans of live events, anyone interested in attending sports, music, arts and theater and family events," Mr. Consiglio said.

"As the smartphone market continues to expand to mass-market consumer adoption, we believe there will be a natural overlap with the core live event consumer looking to use their device to buy tickets and conduct all kinds of ecommerce," he said.

Launching in the U.S. and Canada, with Britain soon to follow, the Ticketmaster for BlackBerry application features a streamlined interface of Ticketmaster.com, providing users with an optimized mobile browsing experience.

The application gives fans event ticket buying capabilities for primary market sales and the ability to securely buy tickets using their stored "My Ticketmaster" account billing information.

In addition, consumers will soon be able to receive mobile notification to advanced or reserved tickets and special events.

The deal establishes BlackBerry as the Official Smartphone of Ticketmaster, although consumers with any phone that has a browser can access the Ticketmaster WAP site.

"You'll see significant promotion of Blackberry and the Ticketmaster for Blackberry application across Ticketmaster.com," Mr. Consiglio said.

"In addition, the application is featured in BlackBerry's App World, promoted at BlackBerry.com and we have a number of promotional and marketing campaigns which will be rolled out in partnership with RIM in the coming months," he said.