Industry News

Scottish Rugby accused over Ticketmaster ‘conflict of interest’ 

Scotland Rugby (SRU) is failing to prevent Ticketmaster from inflating ticket prices on its secondary platforms, according to an industry expert.

Both Seatwave and GetMeIn!, which are owned by Ticketmaster, have offered rugby tickets for huge mark-ups for several of Scotland’s 2018 Six Nations games, according to a report in the Daily Record newspaper.

Two tickets for the team’s match against England were listed on Seatwave for £2,125.98 – more than 10-times their face value of £100 (€113/$134) each. The resale marketplace also charged a £326.98 booking fee for the pair of tickets.

SRU Ticketmaster

While the governing body severed its ties with Viagogo in September after initially defending its relationship with the controversial secondary ticketing site, it must do more, according to Reg Walker, from The Iridium­Consultancy.

“This is very much a conflict of interest and I’m surprised the SRU didn’t use their leverage to get Ticketmaster to agree not to list Scotland tickets on their secondaries.

“Ticketmaster’s managing director Andrew Parsons actually stated at a Fan Fair Alliance conference that where event organisers request they do not list, they do not list.

“Iron Maiden asked them not to list – they didn’t list. Other artists have struck a similar agreement. So the SRU have let down fans here.”

The Record reports that £95 tickets for France’s match-up against Scotland at Murrayfield are listed on Seatwave for £1,417. Similarly, GetMeIn! has been advertising two £100 tickets for the England match for £1,297.96 – more than six-and-a-half times their face value.

Walker added: “Ticketmaster own Seatwave and Get MeIn! So how can the SRU allow them to get away with fans being ripped off like this? Ticketmaster cannot, on the one hand, sell tickets with very stringent terms and conditions attached over resale – then, at the same time, facilitate a breach of those terms and conditions. It’s a nonsense.

“The SRU need to say to Ticketmaster, ‘Do you mind not allowing listings on your secondary sites’. If they don’t, they’re failing their supporters.”