Is StubHub owned by Ticketmaster? Inside the interplay between the ticketing giants

Both household names that have long coexisted in the live event space, one might naturally wonder – is StubHub owned by Ticketmaster?

The answer? No, StubHub is not owned by Ticketmaster . Although they both operate in the ticketing industry, these two companies are distinct entities. Thus, they are competitors rather than partners.

StubHub primarily focuses on the secondary market, namely the resale of tickets. Its platform allows users to sell and buy tickets to events after the original purchase. Furthermore, StubHub provides a marketplace for users to resell tickets either at a markup or discount depending on demand.

By contrast, Ticketmaster operates mainly in the primary market. It works directly with event organizers, venues, and artists to sell tickets for music, sports, and other live events. While Ticketmaster also offers a resale platform, its core business is selling tickets at their original price.

A major ticket resale platform, StubHub burst on the scene in 2000. Shortly thereafter, in 2007, eBay purchased the company. Finally, in 2019, eBay sold StubHub to competing resale platform Viagogo for $4.05 billion. After this acquisition, StubHub and Viagogo merged under a new entity dubbed StubHub Holdings. This deal solidified StubHub’s position in the ticket resale markets separate from Ticketmaster​.

On the other hand, Ticketmaster is part of Live Nation Entertainment – another major player in the live event industry. Established in 1976, Ticketmaster later merged with Live Nation in 2010 to create Live Nation Entertainment. This merger allowed the combined entity to dominate the live event and ticket sales industries and has certainly put the DOJ on alert. Ticketmaster handles primary ticket sales for events, including concerts, sports, and festivals.

As of summer 2024, Live Nation Entertainment is worth $22.7 billion. StubHub has yet not gone public but allegedly explored an IPO valued at $16.5 billion. In summary, while both companies operate in the event ticketing space, StubHub is not owned by Ticketmaster. Rather, Ticketmaster is a subsidiary of Live Nation and StubHub one of Viagogo. They each operate in different sectors of the ticketing market, each with distinct market roles.

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