Willy Bietak Productions

What Willy Bietak Productions does

Willy Bietak Productions, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based, privately held live entertainment company founded in 1987 by nine-time Austrian pair champion and two-time Olympian Willy Bietak. The company conceives, produces, and packages theatrical ice skating shows and installs and operates portable ice rinks for a client base that spans cruise lines, theme parks, casinos, cultural venues, corporate clients, and film/TV productions. Its core content library includes long-running properties such as Broadway on Ice (30+ years), Opera Festival on Ice, Dancing on Ice, Holiday on Ice, Festival on Ice, and 15+ original musical ice shows co-produced with Royal Caribbean International across 11+ cruise ships including Harmony, Symphony, Navigator, Wonder, and Utopia of the Seas.

The company's underlying technology is its proprietary Aluminum Panel System for portable ice rinks, which provides flow-through cooling, added insulation, and precise temperature control suitable for both indoor and outdoor installation in hot climates worldwide. The company offers both real-ice and synthetic-ice surfaces, alongside ancillary production equipment rentals (staging, audio, lighting, pipe and drape). Talent is sourced through year-round global casting at elite skating competitions (ISU World Championships) and in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, and Italy.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees for ice show production, managed services contracts for turn-key ice rink installation and operation, hardware-equivalent rental fees for production equipment, and casting services. Pricing is quote-based with no standardized tiers. Go-to-market is direct B2B sales targeting enterprise entertainment buyers, supplemented by industry event participation (IAAPA) and live auditions that double as talent acquisition and lead generation. The company maintains offices in Los Angeles (headquarters), Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills, and is independently owned by its founder with no external funding, acquisitions, or parent company.

Name

Willy Bietak Productions

Legal name

Willy Bietak Productions, Inc.

Website

https://bietakproductions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Willy Bietak Productions is a Los Angeles-based live entertainment company producing theatrical ice skating shows and installing portable ice rinks for cruise lines, theme parks, casinos, and cultural venues worldwide, anchored by a multi-decade co-production relationship with Royal Caribbean.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Entertainment Production

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (71132), All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (713990)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Rinks & Winter Sports Facilities (MPAKAEAG)

Keywords

• Ice skating shows
• Portable ice rinks
• Live entertainment production
• Cruise ship entertainment
• Custom ice rink installation

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ice Show Production Services: Conceiving, mounting, and packaging high-quality family entertainment productions for clients including theme parks, casinos, cruise lines, and corporate events. Revenue generated through co-production arrangements and direct production contracts.
2. Portable Ice Rink Installation & Operation: Custom-making and installing turn-key public and private ice skating rinks. Includes expert management and operation services, staff provision, skate rentals, and ice maintenance technicians throughout rink operations.
3. Production Equipment Rental: Rental of production equipment including tables, chairs, audio equipment, lighting, staging, pipe and drape systems, and synthetic ice surfaces to event organizers and venues.
4. Talent Casting Services: Year-round casting services for ice skaters, specialty acts, and performers for cruise ship and touring productions. Sourcing and supplying elite skating talent to production partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Willy Bietak Productions conceives, produces, and packages high-quality ice skating shows and custom ice rink installations for cruise lines, theme parks, casinos, corporate events, and touring venues worldwide. The company delivers full-service live entertainment productions featuring Olympic and elite skating talent alongside custom-built portable ice rink systems using proprietary Aluminum Panel technology.

Product overview

Willy Bietak Productions is a full-service worldwide live entertainment company specializing in ice skating shows and portable ice rink technology. The core portfolio consists of theatrical ice productions (Broadway on Ice, Opera Festival on Ice, Dancing on Ice) performed on cruise ships and at venues worldwide, complemented by custom ice rink installation services using real ice (Aluminum Panel System) or synthetic ice surfaces. Additional offerings include production equipment rentals, public and holiday ice rink operations, and casting services for ice performers. The company operates primarily through co-productions with Royal Caribbean Cruises and touring productions, serving theme parks, casinos, cruise lines, and corporate events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Broadway on Ice A theatrical ice skating show blending musical theatre with figure skating artistry, featuring Olympic skating stars and Broadway singers. Designed for theater audiences but can be staged in arenas.
• Opera Festival on Ice

Quantifiable outcome

• 1887: A Journey in Time competed with 80 cruise ships worldwide and won Gold Medal Magellan Award
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Royal Opera House OmancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Production of Opera Festival on Ice at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman. Featured 2014 Olympic Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White, opera singer Markus Werba, and Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Unique venue combining opera and ice skating.
• Royal Caribbean InternationalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary and most significant co-production partner. WBP produces and manages ice skating entertainment across multiple Royal Caribbean cruise ships including Harmony of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, and Utopia of the Seas. Partnership spans multiple decades with ongoing new production development.
• Hong Kong Ocean ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership for Kaleidoscope on Ice, which won the IAAPA Brass Ring Award for Most Creative Sports Show. Demonstrates WBP's capability in theme park entertainment production.
• DreamWorks ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for How to Train Your Dragon ice show production with Royal Caribbean, which won a Magellan Gold Medal Award. Represents successful entertainment IP integration.
• Skating Club of BostonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for live auditions during ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025. Partnership enables access to elite skating talent at major competitions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group: Cirque du Soleil is the largest premium live entertainment production company globally, with a portfolio of original touring and resident shows. While not focused on ice, it competes for the same large-venue, family-oriented premium entertainment budgets that WBP targets with Broadway on Ice and Opera Festival on Ice.
• Madison Square Garden Entertainment: MSG Entertainment operates iconic venues and produces resident and touring entertainment, including Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. Comparable to WBP as a long-running producer of family holiday entertainment anchored in venue partnerships and touring shows.
• IMG (Endeavor): IMG operates across entertainment, sports, and events production, representing talent, producing live shows, and managing events globally. It is comparable to WBP as a B2B production services provider serving cruise lines, theme parks, and corporate clients with large-scale entertainment needs.

Emerging players

• Moment Factory: Moment Factory creates immersive multimedia entertainment experiences for venues and public spaces worldwide. It is comparable to WBP as a creator of premium, multi-sensory live spectacles (light, sound, performance) commissioned by destination venues, though it leans digital/immersive rather than athletic performance.
• Ice Theatre of New York: Ice Theatre of New York produces contemporary ice dance performances and educational programming in artistic skating. It is comparable as a niche ice-entertainment producer but operates at a smaller scale than WBP and does not focus on cruise ship or large-venue commercial productions.

Direct peers

• Stars on Ice: Stars on Ice is a touring figure skating show featuring Olympic and World champion skaters. It directly competes with WBP's Broadway on Ice and Festival on Ice touring productions for arena audiences and elite-skater talent.
• Feld Entertainment: Feld Entertainment is the producer of Disney On Ice and Marvel Universe Live, and is the most direct competitor to Willy Bietak Productions in the touring and cruise-ship ice show production market. Both companies conceptualize, cast, and operate large-scale ice entertainment productions serving cruise lines and arena tours.

Regional players

• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Entertainment: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings operates Norwegian, Oceania, and Regent Seven Seas cruise brands, each with onboard entertainment programming. Comparable to WBP's Royal Caribbean productions as a competing buyer/producer environment for ice-skating entertainment on cruise ships, though NCL operates a different fleet structure and entertainment strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bietakproductions
• Instagraminstagram.com/willybietakproductions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Willy Bietak Productions