Ticket information display system

Abstract

Examples generate and operate a unitary, or composite, interface, having a number of sections or portions that are concurrently and persistently displayed, and using which a user can conveniently navigate through a reserved seat selection process, from selecting a particular theater or venue, through to the final seat selection. In addition, the example unitary interface also proposes various features and mechanisms to enable the user to conveniently locate and purchase a desired or acceptable ticket (e.g., one that is located at a good a viewing angle relative to a screen, or that is contiguously located next to other available seats for friends and family).

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method comprising:
 causing, by a computing system including one or more processors and memory, presentation of a unitary interface, the unitary interface having a first portion displaying one or more venues, a second portion displaying one or more events taking place at the one or more venues, and a seating map portion to display one or more seating maps of the one or more venues, each of the first portion, the second portion, and the seating map portion being concurrently presented within the unitary interface;   receiving, by the computing system, a first selection input indicating a venue of the one or more venues;   causing, by the computing system, presentation of the venue in the first portion of the unitary interface;   responsive to receiving the first selection input, causing, by the computing system, presentation, within the unitary interface, of one or more events that are taking place at the venue;   receiving, by the computing system, second selection input indicating an event of the one or more events,   responsive to receiving the second selection input, causing, by the computing system, presentation of a seating map of the venue within the seating map portion of the unitary interface, concurrently with the presentation of the venue within the first portion of the unitary interface and the event within the second portion of the unitary interface; and   responsive to a messaging input corresponding to a user, causing, by the computing system, a ticket message to be transmitted to related entities within a social network of the user, the ticket message including an additional unitary interface that includes an additional first portion indicating the venue, an additional second section indicating the event, and an additional seating map portion indicating the seating map of the venue and indicating a seat selection of the user within the seating map.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the unitary interface includes an additional portion indicating one or more show times for the event, and the method comprises:
 receiving, by the computing system, an additional selection of a show time of the one or more show times; and   responsive to the additional selection;
 causing, by the computing system, the show time to be highlighted in the additional portion; and 
 accessing, by the computing system, seat data indicating the seating map of the venue. 
   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , comprising:
 receiving, by the computing system, additional input to cause one or more additional show times to be displayed in the additional portion.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , comprising:
 responsive to the additional selection, accessing, by the computing system, a database to retrieve social network data representative of one or more friend entities associated with a user;   determining, by the computing system and using the social network data, that a friend entity associated with the user has purchased a seat within the venue at the show time; and   causing, by the computing system, presentation, within the seating map portion of the unitary interface, of a friend entity indicium in association with the seat purchased by the friend entity.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first portion of the unitary interface includes a scroll button, and the method comprises:
 receiving, by the computing system, additional input indicating selection of the scroll button; and   responsive to selection of the scroll button, causing presentation of one or more additional venues in the first portion of the unitary interface.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , comprising:
 responsive to selection of the scroll button, accessing a database to identify one or more additional events that correspond to the one or more additional venues;   modifying the second portion of the unitary interface to display the one or more additional events; and   modifying the seating map portion of the unitary interface to include an additional set of seats available for the one or more additional events.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ticket message includes video content that corresponds to the event and the ticket message includes a user interface element selectable to view the video content. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the venue includes a movie theater, the one or more events include one or more movies shown at the movie theater, and the seating map portion indicates a location of a screen of the movie theater. 
     
     
         10 . A system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:   causing presentation of a unitary interface, the unitary interface having a first portion displaying one or more venues, a second portion displaying one or more events taking place at the one or more venues, and a seating map portion to display one or more seating maps of the one or more venues, each of the first portion, the second portion, and the seating map portion being concurrently presented within the unitary interface;   receiving a first selection input indicating a venue of the one or more venues;   causing presentation of the venue in the first portion of the unitary interface;   responsive to receiving the first selection input, causing presentation, within the unitary interface, of one or more events that are taking place at the venue;   receiving second selection input indicating an event of the one or more events,   responsive to receiving the second selection input, causing presentation of a seating map of the venue within the seating map portion of the unitary interface, concurrently with the presentation of the venue within the first portion of the unitary interface and the event within the second portion of the unitary interface; and   responsive to a messaging input corresponding to a user a ticket message to be transmitted to related entities within a social network of the user, the ticket message including an additional unitary interface that includes an additional first portion indicating the venue, an additional second section indicating the event, and an additional seating map portion indicating the seating map of the venue and indicating a seat selection of the user within the seating map.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , comprising:
 one or more databases that store a plurality of tables, the plurality of data tables including a first data table storing a list of venues, a second data table indicating seating maps of the venues included in the list of venues, a third data table indicating a list of events that correspond to the venues included in the list of venues and a fourth data table indicating show times for the events included in the list of events.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more databases store a fifth data table stored that is indexed to the first data table, the second data table, the third data table, and the fourth data table, and the fifth data table storing ticket data indicating availability of seats at individual venues for individual events at one or more show times. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 aggregating information from third-party venue ticketing systems to generate and update at least one of the first data table, the second data table, the third data table, the fourth data table, or the fifth data table   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 performing at least one of one or more normalization operations or one or more formatting operations with respect to data obtained from the third-party venue ticketing systems to generate and update at least one of the first data table, the second data table, the third data table, the fourth data table, or the fifth data table.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 15 , comprising an application programming interface (API) server that retrieves and synchronizes in real-time or near real-time the aggregating of the information from the third-party venue ticketing systems to update at least one of the first data table, the second data table, the third data table, the fourth data table, or the fifth data table. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the venue includes a sports venue, the one or more events include one or more live sporting events, and the seating map portion indicates a location of an arena, field, or rink of the sports venue. 
     
     
         17 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 causing presentation of a unitary interface, the unitary interface having a first portion displaying one or more venues, a second portion displaying one or more events taking place at the one or more venues, and a seating map portion to display one or more seating maps of the one or more venues, each of the first portion, the second portion, and the seating map portion being concurrently presented within the unitary interface;   receiving a first selection input indicating a venue of the one or more venues;   causing presentation of the venue in the first portion of the unitary interface;   responsive to receiving the first selection input, causing presentation, within the unitary interface, of one or more events that are taking place at the venue;   receiving second selection input indicating an event of the one or more events,   responsive to receiving the second selection input, causing presentation of a seating map of the venue within the seating map portion of the unitary interface, concurrently with the presentation of the venue within the first portion of the unitary interface and the event within the second portion of the unitary interface; and   responsive to a messaging input corresponding to a user a ticket message to be transmitted to related entities within a social network of the user, the ticket message including an additional unitary interface that includes an additional first portion indicating the venue, an additional second section indicating the event, and an additional seating map portion indicating the seating map of the venue and indicating a seat selection of the user within the seating map.   
     
     
         18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 17 , wherein the unitary interface includes an additional portion to enter geographic information; and storing additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform additional operations comprising:
 determining the one or more venues displayed in first portion of the unitary interface based on the geographic information   
     
     
         19 . The one or more one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 17 , storing additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform additional operations comprising:
 determining a geographic region in which a mobile device of a user is located based on geographic positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the mobile device; and   determining the one or more venues displayed in the first portion of the unitary interface based on the GPS coordinates.   
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 19 , storing additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform additional operations comprising:
 determining the one or more venues based on the one or more venues being within a predetermined radius of a location of a mobile device of a user.   
     
     
         21 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 19 , wherein the venue includes a theater, the one or more events include one or more live performances performed at the movie theater, and the seating map portion indicates a location of a stage of the theater.