PRESS RELEASE

SEATWAVE COMMENTS ON THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE INTO TICKET TOUTING

21 APRIL, 2008

Joe Cohen, founder and CEO of Seatwave, comments on the Government response to the Culture Media and Sport Committee’s report into Ticket Touting

Seatwave, the UK’s largest online fan-to-fan ticket exchange, has today cautiously welcomed the response from the Government to the Culture Media and Sport Committee’s report into Ticket Touting.

A statement made by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed that the Government does not see a need for any general restriction on ticket resale in the UK’s thriving online secondary ticket market. The statement recognised the benefits of the secondary market, stating “a well functioning and honest secondary market has clear benefits for consumers.”

The Government believes, however, that there is a case for special protection for so called ‘crown jewel’ events of national significance – a proposal the Select Committee felt would be ‘unworkable’.

Joe Cohen, founder and CEO of Seatwave, was heartened by the Government’s recognition that the secondary market is good for fans:

“We are extremely pleased that the Government has supported the Select Committee’s recommendations and has rejected the case for regulation of the secondary market.”

But he expressed concern at the Government’s support for the ‘crown jewels’ proposal:

“I am concerned that this may represent a move to restrict the secondary market by the back door. In the absence of a tight definition of what constitutes a ‘crown jewel’ there is a real danger that some cynical event organisers will use the device to protect their own interests. We believe that if the Government is to proceed with this proposal it needs to hold a public consultation where the voice of fans can be properly heard.”

“It’s surprising that the Government thinks this is a solution for fans. Fans will lose out if the secondary market option is denied to them for events of national significance. Restriction would mean that if I were to sell a Wimbledon ticket to my next door neighbour without going through the Wimbledon website then I would be committing a criminal act. This just flies in the face of any logic and would criminalise a huge plurality, if not majority of regular fans. The Government should think again and listen to fans’ views. Seatwave’s own research clearly demonstrates that fans don’t want the Government to interfere. Fans appreciate the fact that the secondary market gives them a second chance to buy the tickets they have missed out on.”

“A transparent and fair secondary ticket market, allowing fans to buy and sell tickets in a safe and secure environment, is in the interest of all fans. Our figures show that the volume of tickets for this year’s RBS Six Nations sold on Seatwave increased by 556 per cent, and the average ticket price decreased by 35 per cent, compared to the 2007 competition. It’s hard evidence that fair and open exchanges work to lower prices and raise consumer protection.”



“We fully agree that there should be robust protection of consumers against rip-offs. That is exactly what Seatwave offers with TicketIntegrity™ and TicketCover™, which guarantee the tickets are genuine, and offers a 150% refund if they do not arrive on time and a 100% refund of total ticket price should the event be cancelled.”



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For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Louise Rutter at Portland on 020 7404 5344 / or Claire Thom on 020 7404 5344/



Notes to Editors

Joe Cohen, CEO of Seatwave gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s inquiry into ticket touting in June 2007. Evidence was also given by event promoter Harvey Goldsmith, the Rugby Football Union and eBay amongst others.
Event promoters have recently called for restrictions on ticket resale, arguing that most music fans are against resale.
The Department for Culture, Media and sport held four ‘ticketing summits’ over the course of 2005 and 2006 which brought together industry players in the primary and secondary markets.
The DCMS published research suggesting most consumers viewed reselling at a profit as “acceptable”.
Ticket resale is legally permitted for the majority of events in the UK.
Many event promoters attempt to restrict opportunities for resale by imposing restrictive terms and conditions, including requirements that the ticket may only be used by the person who bought it and that they must prove their identity.
Event organisers have been known, in some cases to revoke tickets which have been resold. The company managing tickets for the Led Zeppelin concert added a requirement that photo ID and the credit card used was brought to collect the tickets, despite this not being stipulated in the original terms and conditions.
Several States in the US have recently passed laws allowing resale, with some sporting bodies, including Major League Baseball and the National Football League appointing official online agencies to manage the process of resale on their behalf.


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For further information please contact

Louise Rutter / Katie Thompson
Portland PR
T. 020 7404 5344
E.

About Seatwave
Seatwave is the UK's largest fan-to-fan ticket exchange. Seatwave was launched in February 2007 by Joe Cohen, ex Ticketmaster and ex match.com, and early stage Venture Capital firm, Atlas Venture. It has more than 400,000 tickets on sale at any one time, 20 times more than eBay. Seatwave guarantees that tickets come only from legitimate sources and will represent them accurately and honestly. All tickets include 'TicketCover™' free of charge, providing a 100% money-back guarantee for event cancellation and a number of other possible misfortunes. The company is based in London. www.seatwave.com

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