StubHub (eBay) and the NFL have announced a multi-year partnership that will make the world’s largest ticketing marketplace, the NFL’s “authorized ticket resale marketplace”, beginning in 2018. As part of a new 5-year deal with Ticketmaster (LYV), the NFL will be introducing the first open architecture, fully digital ticketing system in sports; meaning StubHub will be able to directly integrate with the league’s primary ticketing system for the first time. The NFL will allow competing marketplaces to integrate with the platform as well, but StubHub will retain exclusive marketing rights and other benefits.
Howie Long-Short: eBay Inc. (EBAY) reported earnings of $514 million ($.48/share) for the quarter ending September 30th. EBAY did $2.4 billion in revenue, up 9% YOY; with $1.9 billion (up 8% YOY) coming from their marketplace platforms. StubHub contributed $275 million in revenue (up 5% YOY), with the growth driven by international sales. The company is currently investing heavily in the redevelopment of their platforms amid stiff competition from AMZN.
Fan Marino: The Province of Ontario is working on consumer protection legislation that would ban ticket scalping “bots” and cap the markup on resold tickets to $.50, on resale sites like StubHub. Banning bots makes sense because it creates an even playing field. Capping resale prices does not. Why would a fan buy a season ticket if they could always get a seat for no more than $.50 above the face value of the ticket? The Raptors & Blue Jays should be lobbying against this bill.
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