By Alfred Branch, Jr.
With a couple weeks of the new NFL season in the books, secondary ticketing giant StubHub! is already claiming a victory of sorts in the “ticket wars” with rival Ticketmaster.
Based on data provided by StubHub!, the company said it is routinely offering fans better prices than those offered on Ticketmaster’s secondary site, TicketExchange, where season ticket holders resell tickets.
The NFL and Major League Baseball are the two crown jewels of the North American professional sports landscape, but with StubHub!’s secondary ticket deal with MLB the stakes are higher with the NFL, especially with the growing number secondary ticketers entering the scene — emboldened by so many states legalizing ticket reselling.
The two competitors have been locking up partnerships with various NFL teams whenever they can, but while one rules the primary ticket market (Ticketmaster), the other still rules the secondary market (StubHub!). However, Ticketmaster wants to rule the secondary market, too, but it has yet to crack the Top 10 of secondary ticketers in TicketNews’ weekly ranking.
Ticketmaster did not respond to requests for comment. . .
“StubHub!, by its very nature, has more ticket availability than Ticketmaster, unless there is no market demand for a particular event,” said Sean Pate, director of public relations for StubHub!, referring to how the company believes it offers better NFL bargains than its rival. “And, the ease of use, as you probably know, is far superior [with StubHub!].”
To prove his point, Pate gave examples of prices of low-end NFL tickets selling for less on StubHub! than on Ticketmaster. New York Giants tickets that were selling for between $75 and $100 on Ticketmaster’s site, were being offered for $68 on StubHub! For the Jets, the disparity was even greater, with some $70 to $75 tickets on Ticketmaster’s site being offered for $50 on StubHub!
Part of the problem for Ticketmaster, which will go away in time, is that many fans are not yet used to its TicketExchange. The Pittsburgh Steelers use Ticketmaster as its secondary ticketer, but since the site is still new, fans haven’t taken to it yet. According to some fans on AOL Sports, the site’s restrictions on resales are not yet winning over legions of sellers and buyers. But, a team spokesperson has reportedly said that one of the site’s chief selling points is that fans can rest assured that they are buying real tickets, something that secondary ticketers occasionally grappled with.
