No Merger On The Horizon (in the UK, at least)

BBC News has reported that the UK Commission is not allowing the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation due to it creating an anti-competitive marketplace. This ruling may sway the US Justice Department’s decision, which is still forthcoming.

The article states:

The watchdog said that its main concern was based around an agreement that Live Nation had entered into with Europe’s largest ticketing agent, CTS.

Live Nation has historically used Ticketmaster as its principal ticketing agent, but this agreement expires in December.

The commission said that the deal with CTS would increase competition among ticket sellers.

And it argued that if the merger went ahead, there was a danger of competition being reduced because Live Nation would “seek to limit” its relationship with CTS – limiting how many tickets it made available.

This could force up ticket prices, lead to poorer customer service and may have “the effect of putting CTS’s future prospects in the UK in considerable doubt”, it said.

Last 4 posts by U2isABLE

Comments are closed.