Whatsonstage.com, the UK’s foremost dedicated theatre website, providing theatre news features and ticket sales. The website is ranked as the number one performing arts website in the UK by Alexa and number three by Experian Hitwise.
The purchase is the latest step in Time Out’s rapid development as a digital media group and represents a major investment by Time Out in theatre, one of its most popular content areas. It also furthers its commitment to UK-wide coverage.
Whatsonstage.com is the Group’s third acquisition in three months as part of its online growth strategy and follows the company’s recent acquisitions of daily offers business Kelkoo Select and high-end lifestyle club Keynoir.
The Whatsonstage.com website and business will be retained as a separate but complementary brand within the Time Out Group and will continue to be run by Terri Paddock, Whatsonstage.com’s managing and editorial director, who has been with the business since its launch in 1996.
Paddock and her team will be working closely with Time Out Editor in Chief Tim Arthur and e-commerce director Paul Shaw.
CEO of Time Out David King says: “Whatsonstage.com is an important addition to our theatre and ticket sales business, and the acquisition coincides with the recent launch of our transactional and ticketing platform.”
Whatsonstage.com’s Terri Paddock adds: “The Whatsonstage.com team is thrilled to join the Time Out portfolio. The Group’s growth plans, digitally and internationally, are hugely ambitious and we’re excited to play a part in them. We relish the opportunity to communicate our passion for all things theatre to a much wider audience across a range of devices.”