Competition and Markets Authority head Sarah Cardell. Photo Credit: CMA
Nearly one year after launching an investigation into Ticketmaster, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is “preparing to litigate” against the platform “if necessary.”
That not-so-subtle update comes from the CMA itself, which in September 2024 kicked off a consumer-protection probe into the Live Nation subsidiary. This investigation, the competition watchdog spelled out at the time, was set in motion by “concerns regarding the sale of Oasis concert tickets by Ticketmaster.”
And those concerns followed more than a little fan criticism pertaining to the act’s comeback-tour tickets.
(Like in the U.S., the public mood across the pond is less than ideal for ticketing companies. The BBC has now put out multiple investigative pieces about “ticket touts,” and the government is weighing a price cap on resale passes.)
Fast forward to March 2025, when the CMA formally accused Ticketmaster of misleading Oasis fans – and demanded several operational changes as a result. Long story short, the qualms center not on the much-discussed Dynamic Pricing, but on alleged misrepresentations about “platinum” and standing passes.
Though Ticketmaster “made changes to some aspects of its ticket sales process,” per the CMA, the adjustments evidently didn’t go far enough. Besides consulting with the CMA on these changes, the platform provided a formal response last month.
“Having carefully considered Ticketmaster’s response,” the competition watchdog’s new update reads, “the CMA’s view is that there is fundamental disagreement between the CMA and Ticketmaster about whether Ticketmaster’s practices infringed consumer law.”
Will this “fundamental disagreement” fuel an ugly legal battl