Company Town : Ticketmaster Plans ‘on-Line’ Service

In another deal driven by advances in technology, Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster has entered into an alliance with America Online and Tribune Co. to provide an “on-line” ticket-buying service for concerts and other events in Chicago and Florida.

The personal computer service will include an event calendar with detailed information. Merchandise will also be available through the service, which begins in Chicago at the end of the year, and in Florida sometime in 1994. Ticketmaster Chairman Fred Rosen said it could go nationwide within months.

“What all these information highways and byways give you is the ability to bring more things into the home,” Rosen said. “The marriage of these technologies into our system means interaction happens today, not tomorrow.”

Ticketmaster is the world’s leading computerized ticketing service. It has experimented with advanced sales of movie tickets and also offers limited types of merchandise.

America Online, the country’s fastest-growing on-line service, allows personal computer users to gain dial-up access to new information and one another.

Tribune Co. has interests in everything from newspapers to TV and radio.