Pats fans may regret using StubHub
After winning a ruling against online ticket reseller StubHub, the New England Patriots might revoke tickets from 13,000 of the site's customers. Dan Grech explores whether they had fans in mind.
A New England Patriots fan watches a game. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
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Scott Jagow: The New England Patriots seem unbeatable this season. They're 6-0 on the field -- and now, they're 1-0 in court.
The Patriots won a ruling against the online ticket reseller StubHub. StubHub has to turn in the names of 13,000 customers who bought or sold tickets to Patriots home games. More now from Dan Grech.
Dan Grech: So, what will the Patriots do with the StubHub names? The team says it may revoke some season tickets -- or even turn scalpers over to authorities. It's not exactly how you'd expect a team to treat its fans.
Kenneth Shropshire is a sports marketing professor at Wharton:
Kenneth Shropshire: It's a pure business decision. I'm sure that the internal battle was with the PR people saying, "Our fans our gonna be unhappy." But on the other hand, sometimes you take these hard stances looking forward to the long run.
Shropshire says scalping has grown from a couple of guys selling tickets on a street corner to a multimillion-dollar enterprise. StubHub, for one, was acquired by eBay.
Shropshire: Sports overall, with all these new technologies, is trying to protect their traditional route of being profitable.
Privacy expert Ari Schwartz says the ruling punishes the many for the sins of a few. The 13,000 names include people who simply bid on a ticket, but never actually bought one.
I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace.
