The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has been urged to investigate whether a ticketing partnership between Ticketmaster and e-commerce giant Fanatics had violated antitrust laws.
Last month, it was announced that the pair had formed a partnership to help facilitate Fanatics’ push into ticketing, with the e-commerce giant aiming to launch its Fanatics Ticket Marketplace on its app for the resale of tickets alongside its apparel, merchandise, trading cards, and collectibles verticals.
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The deal was part of a wider two-way partnership between the pair, whereby Ticketmaster tickets would list on the Fanatics app, while Fanatics products would list on the Ticketmaster website and app.
It marked the latest move under Fanatics’ goal for its app – which ties all of its verticals together – to be a 'one-stop-shop' for sports fans, which has so far seen partnerships struck with digital music service Spotify, social media heavyweight Meta, and live music event listing website BandsInTown.com, where fans can buy tickets via Ticketmaster without having to access the main Ticketmaster website.
However, two US Senators have now questioned the decision by Fanatics to partner with the global ticketing company when it has the resources – financial, technical, and user base – to create a rival platform that could create competition and ultimately benefit consumers.
In a letter seen by news outlet Sportico, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee have requested the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division to investigate the partnership, alleging the deal will strengthen Ticketmaster’s already dominant market position and prevent the creation of a potential Fanatics-led competitor.
It said: “Fanatics entered an agreement with an online ticketing monopolist, rather than innovate, disrupt and compete themselves as they have in numerous other sports-related markets, raises significant questions about whether Live Nation-Ticketmaster used its monopoly power to prevent Fanatics from entering the online ticketing market, depriving consumers of the benefits of competition.
“We urge you to look into this deal to determine if any antitrust laws were broken and whether consumers were illegally denied the benefits of new competition in this market.”
The letter described Ticketmaster as an “online ticketing monopolist” and Fanatics as a potential disruptor, which chose not to compete directly with Ticketmaster despite “innovating and disrupting” other sports-related markets.
At the time of the partnership announcement, Fanatics’ chief strategy and growth officer Tuck Kain said: “When you look at the market position that Ticketmaster has built—we wanted to make sure we had as broad and comprehensive an offering as we could.
“Plus, having Ticketmaster/Live Nation as a potential partner across a number of things, like distributing our merchandise [through them], there’s an opportunity to start here and build a bigger partnership over time.”
Responding to the letter, a representative for Ticketmaster told GlobalData Sport (Sportcal): "The agreement simply provides that Ticketmaster can sell secondary tickets to sporting events on Fanatics websites and mobile apps, giving fans additional ticket-buying opportunities.
"The secondary ticketing market is extremely competitive. Ticketmaster competes with StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, and numerous others and is in no way the leading secondary ticket seller, as the Senators’ letter suggests."
The investigation request comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, which is facing a federal antitrust lawsuit filed by the DOJ and multiple states in May 2024.
That suit accused Live Nation and Ticketmaster of unfairly using exclusive venue contracts and other practices to stifle competition, raise prices, and restrict resale options.
