2022 Impact 50: Nick Nuciforo

Partner & Head Of UTA Comedy Touring
UTA

UTA Partner and Comedy Touring Department head Nick Nuciforo has always been visionary. He helped launch Lewis Black, Larry the Cable Guy, and Ron White before creating larger events that include the Baseball Hall of Fame Tour, Funny or Die’s Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival and the Wild West Comedy Festival. 

Today, he oversees a who’s who of comedy’s biggest – touring, especially – names, including Sebastian Maniscalco, Bert Kreischer, Seth Meyers, Jeff Foxworthy, Jim Gaffigan, Whitney Cummings, Will Farrell, Flight of the Conchords, Chelsea Handler, George Lopez, Ali Wong, Sarah Silverman, the Lonely Island and more. Further coloring outside the lines, Nuciforo quarterbacks podcast/non-traditional touring acts including Crime Junkie, Tiny Meat Gang Live and more.

His ability to see “live” in new ways spills into how he creates touring realities for his star clients and embraces future-leaning opportunities. “I negotiated a deal with Ticketmaster for Sebastian Maniscalco to gift an NFT to everyone who came to his arena shows in Toronto, Madison Square Garden, UBS Arena, Barclays Center and Prudential Center,” Nuciforo says. “For many of his fans, this was their first experience with digital collectables.”

Kreischer recently announced the Fully Loaded comedy festival, which Nuciforo explains “is an extension of Bert and the lifestyle brand we are building.” The multi-act touring fest is routed in eight cities with stops including minor league baseball stadiums, arenas and Thunder Valley Amphitheatre at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee. 

Nuciforo anticipates that with specials, podcasts and social media, comedy will continue to see significant growth in ticket sales in the years to come. While noting there are more comedy headliners now than ever, Nuciforo adds, “I’m proud of the great effort our team has made to identify and uplift underrepresented voices. We’ve signed and represent a diverse cross-section of voices like Hannah Gadsby, Jonathan VanNess, Alok, Patti Harrison, and Ziwe.”