Despite changes to its operations in the United Kingdom, StubHub will not be disrupting the way it does business in the U.S.
Last week the Advertising Standards Authority, a regulatory agency in the U.K., took aim at StubHub UK as well as other secondary ticketing sites for not clearly disclosing added fees. The agency now requires them to list all fees upfront.
StubHub will be complying with the ruling in the U.K. but will not be changing the way it functions in the U.S., where consumers could see fees upfront if they check a box while searching for tickets.
“We will be complying with the ruling although as this only applies to the U.K., we will not be making changes in any other jurisdictions,” a spokesperson for Stubhub said in an email to Broadway News.
Theater is the fourth-largest genre for ticket sales on the StubHub’s site.
The spokesperson added that they believe this ruling hurts rather than helps because consumers are used to seeing fees and shipping costs added on at the end with car rentals, airplane tickets and primary ticket sellers.
“We actually feel that this ruling creates consumer confusion and does not allow customers to easily and accurately compare prices on the primary and secondary markets,” the spokesperson wrote.
The UK has been investigating claims of untruthful advertising for months, according to The Independent, as artists and consumers have spoken up about unclear listings.
The Federal Trade Commission, which monitors advertising in the U.S. under a law requiring claims in advertising to be truthful, did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
The UK ruling also applies to Viagogo, a ticket resale company based in Geneva, which has specifically been told it cannot call itself an “official site” in the U.K., among other phrases. The site lists tickets to events in the U.S., including shows such as “Hamilton” on Broadway.
A spokesperson for Viagogo pointed Broadway News to a frequently asked questions page of the site, but would not speak to how the ruling would impact tickets for shows in the U.S.
“We have no further comment beyond these answers,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.
The U.K. ruling also applies to Seatwave and GetMeIn, two sites owned by Ticketmaster. However, those sites are exclusively for U.K. events and thus will not have an impact on the U.S.
