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Viagogo
Viagogo Entertainment Inc., stylized as viagogo, is an American ticket exchange and ticket resale company headquartered in Delaware that primarily operates in Europe. It was founded in 2006 by Eric Baker. The company acts as a marketplace for the secondary sale of tickets to events.
Viagogo has faced criticism and legal challenges related to transparency in pricing, the role of professional resellers, and the clarity of information provided to buyers. Viagogo purchased StubHub in February 2020 for approximately £2.9 billion.
Eric Baker moved to London and founded Viagogo in 2006 after leaving StubHub, which he co-founded. The Guardian reported Baker got the idea for Viagogo while discussing travel with a friend and noticed that Europe did not have a secondary ticket marketplace. Among initial investors were Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Bernard Arnault, Brent Hoberman, and Jacob Rothschild. Viagogo officially launched on 18 August 2006 and was primarily focused on the sale of sports tickets, but also included concerts, theatre, and arts events in its early offerings. It was one of the first ticket resale firms in Europe.
Baker signed deals with several groups and individuals to be their official ticket resellers, including Manchester United, Chelsea F.C., Madonna, Michael Jackson, the French Open, Bayern Munich, and Really Useful Group. The deal with Madonna was the second such deal between an artist and secondary ticketing platform; the first was between the Eagles and Ticketmaster. The agreements shared revenue on ticket fees between the partners. Selling tickets to football matches outside stadium grounds was illegal in the United Kingdom in 2006; Viagogo's football deals made the resale of those match tickets legal and were the first of their kind in the country.
In 2008, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee issued a report indicating that Viagogo and similar marketplaces offered a valuable service but should enact further protective practices, including a ban on the sale of free tickets to charity events and the sale of seats not yet available. Approximately $100 USD million in tickets were sold via Viagogo that year, with Viagogo making 25 percent of those sales, three times that of StubHub's first three years of operation. By that time, it had offices in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) criticized Viagogo in 2009 for its high prices. ECB cancelled 1,000 tickets for the Men's T20 World Cup that had been resold, and ECB said Viagogo "undermined" the group's business model. That year, Viagogo held a funding round that valued the company at £163.19 million. Its partnership with Manchester United ended in 2011.
A British court ruled in 2011 that Viagogo must provide information to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on users who resold RFU tickets on the platform. Viagogo appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which ruled in favor of the RFU, resulting in a Norwich Pharmacal order.
Viagogo moved its offices from the United Kingdom to Switzerland in 2012. Live music promoters were partnering with Viagogo to sell tickets for their acts by that year, including Rihanna and Coldplay. Promoters withheld some tickets from their primary sellers to sell first on Viagogo. The company and promoter then split the revenue. Madonna made the firm her official secondary ticket marketplace for her European tour in 2012. That year, fans of Mumford & Sons were turned away from a concert in Portsmouth, England, for having fraudulent tickets purchased through Viagogo. The company promised credits or refunds in the amount of the ticket and an internal investigation.
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Viagogo
Viagogo Entertainment Inc., stylized as viagogo, is an American ticket exchange and ticket resale company headquartered in Delaware that primarily operates in Europe. It was founded in 2006 by Eric Baker. The company acts as a marketplace for the secondary sale of tickets to events.
Viagogo has faced criticism and legal challenges related to transparency in pricing, the role of professional resellers, and the clarity of information provided to buyers. Viagogo purchased StubHub in February 2020 for approximately £2.9 billion.
Eric Baker moved to London and founded Viagogo in 2006 after leaving StubHub, which he co-founded. The Guardian reported Baker got the idea for Viagogo while discussing travel with a friend and noticed that Europe did not have a secondary ticket marketplace. Among initial investors were Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Bernard Arnault, Brent Hoberman, and Jacob Rothschild. Viagogo officially launched on 18 August 2006 and was primarily focused on the sale of sports tickets, but also included concerts, theatre, and arts events in its early offerings. It was one of the first ticket resale firms in Europe.
Baker signed deals with several groups and individuals to be their official ticket resellers, including Manchester United, Chelsea F.C., Madonna, Michael Jackson, the French Open, Bayern Munich, and Really Useful Group. The deal with Madonna was the second such deal between an artist and secondary ticketing platform; the first was between the Eagles and Ticketmaster. The agreements shared revenue on ticket fees between the partners. Selling tickets to football matches outside stadium grounds was illegal in the United Kingdom in 2006; Viagogo's football deals made the resale of those match tickets legal and were the first of their kind in the country.
In 2008, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee issued a report indicating that Viagogo and similar marketplaces offered a valuable service but should enact further protective practices, including a ban on the sale of free tickets to charity events and the sale of seats not yet available. Approximately $100 USD million in tickets were sold via Viagogo that year, with Viagogo making 25 percent of those sales, three times that of StubHub's first three years of operation. By that time, it had offices in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) criticized Viagogo in 2009 for its high prices. ECB cancelled 1,000 tickets for the Men's T20 World Cup that had been resold, and ECB said Viagogo "undermined" the group's business model. That year, Viagogo held a funding round that valued the company at £163.19 million. Its partnership with Manchester United ended in 2011.
A British court ruled in 2011 that Viagogo must provide information to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on users who resold RFU tickets on the platform. Viagogo appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which ruled in favor of the RFU, resulting in a Norwich Pharmacal order.
Viagogo moved its offices from the United Kingdom to Switzerland in 2012. Live music promoters were partnering with Viagogo to sell tickets for their acts by that year, including Rihanna and Coldplay. Promoters withheld some tickets from their primary sellers to sell first on Viagogo. The company and promoter then split the revenue. Madonna made the firm her official secondary ticket marketplace for her European tour in 2012. That year, fans of Mumford & Sons were turned away from a concert in Portsmouth, England, for having fraudulent tickets purchased through Viagogo. The company promised credits or refunds in the amount of the ticket and an internal investigation.