by Richard Kastelein

OP/ED - "Today's clearance is an important milestone in the regulatory review process, and brings the companies a step closer to creating a new kind of live entertainment business." says Ticketmaster UK managing director Chris Edmonds.  

New kind? More like it will be the only kind. And we might as well rephrase it a Triopoly since CTS Eventim clearly decided not to get too vocal about the deal and there must be some kind of carrot that's not on the open table. However, shares in CTS Eventim were trading down 3 percent in Frankfurt in a bullish overall market. They can't be too happy.  But who knows what or if any kind of graft or pressure was being buffed or batted around the back rooms of The UK Competition Commission.The reversal of rejection to support does smell a bit odd.

In my opinion, Ticketmaster and Live Nation do not want to eliminate secondary ticketing - they want to monopolize it.  

Ticketmaster has historically used multiple means to take advantage of consumers and increase the price of tickets and services, a practice that will grow with increased control over the market.

Here's the official news release and the final report. 

...We concluded that it was unlikely that the effects of the merger on Eventim would result in a substantial lessening of competition in the UK market for the primary retailing of live music tickets.

I am sure other UK homegrown, primary ticketing companies such as See Tickets won't be too happy to face the powerhouse.  They should be... their substantial market share of the U.K. festival and West End primary ticketing sector will certainly be challenged.They control a significant part of the U.K. market; about half as much as Ticketmaster according to some estimates. 

Today is not a good day for either consumers or the secondary ticketing industry. Not in Europe...  Seatwave CEO Joe Cohen said today: 

"We continue to believe this merger will lead to higher ticket prices for fans although the Competition Commission disagrees with our position - and their own initial ruling.  The onus is now on Ticketmaster and Live Nation to demonstrate tangible, financial, consumer benefit, and we certainly hope they do.  The Competition Commission have given them an early Christmas present and now we'll wait to see if the US Department of Justice choose to stand up for fans or give them a lump of coal."

He's right. It's up to the American DOJ to put the brakes on the behemoth being formed. But he's also being quite gentle here - understandable since he's also in a partnership with Live Nation in the Netherlands.

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