Ticketmaster to enter legal agreement with watchdog after probe into competition

The move follows a major inquiry by the Competition and Consumer Protections Commission (CCPC).

The watchdog began legal proceedings on Tuesday to have the agreement made an order of the High Court.

It has been investigating suspected breaches of competition law surrounding the operation of ticketing services for live events since 2017.

As part of the wide-ranging probe the CCPC has been looking into concerns of potentially anti-competitive conduct such as exclusive arrangements, rebates, and high service charges.

Ticketmaster, which is the dominant player in the Irish market, has denied breaking the law.

However, in a statement the CCPC confirmed the company had agreed to address concerns raised during the probe.

The terms of the agreement have yet to be revealed but are set to be published next week.

Ticketmaster declined to comment. It is understood the company will consent to the High Court application.

Lawyers for the CCPC filed a notice of motion with the court seeking orders pursuant to the Competition Act 2002.

An affidavit to ground the application was filed by the CCPC’s director of competition enforcement, Ibrahim Bah.

The legislation deals with prohibited conduct such as the abuse of a dominant market position and anti-competitive behaviour.

It also allows the watchdog to apply to the High Court to have commitments given in undertakings made an order of the court.

This would mean than any breach of the agreement by Ticketmaster would be a contempt of court.

The matter will come before a judge next month.

“Ticketline Unlimited Company, trading as Ticketmaster Ireland, has denied breaching competition law but has nonetheless entered into an agreement with the CCPC in which Ticketmaster Ireland has given commitments to address the CCPC’s concerns arising from its investigation,” a statement from the watchdog said.

The investigation was announced in January 2017.

Earlier that month there was considerable controversy after a U2 concert sold out, only for tickets to quickly appear on Ticketmaster’s now defunct sister site Seatwave for multiples of the original price.

However, it is thought the CCPC had been examining concerns long before the concert debacle.

In its annual report for 2019, the watchdog revealed that as part of the investigation it had obtained thousands of emails and electronic documents and held a number of hearings where witnesses were summonsed to give evidence under oath.

In an earlier report it said the probe was opened following an analysis of the market and a review of public contacts relating to the sector.

The report said some 235,000 electronic documents were obtained by the CCPC by the end of 2017 and that the inquiry also involved industry participants in Ireland and the UK as well as competition authorities in other European jurisdictions.