Seatwave Soars Nearer To Profit

Secondary ticketer Seatwave is enjoying such a “huge jump” in sales that chief exec Joe Cohen told The Daily Telegraph the venture capital-backed business will move into profitability before the end of the year.

“We always thought it would take years,” he said. “But as we approach our third anniversary next month, we expect to turn into profit soon.”

Cohen told the paper that sales of tickets for music and comedy events “soared” as more people turned to the so-called secondary ticket market to secure entry.

“Consumers are realising that nothing really sells out any more. They can still get tickets from online ticket exchanges,” he said.
Seatwave’s ticket sales are said to have jumped 87 percent compared with 2008, spurred by the demand for comedy gigs, rock concerts and tickets to last summer’s cricket World Cup and The Ashes series.

Cohen said the sudden jump in popularity of comedy gigs showed “consumers depressed by the bad economy wanted something to laugh at.”

Tickets for Peter Kay, the comic best known for TV show “Phoenix Nights,” was the most popular comedy act last year, followed by Billy Connolly and Michael McIntyre.

Seatwave said it sold 40,000 tickets for U2’s 360 tour to fans from more than 100 countries. Depeche Mode and Muse also sold well.

Sales of tickets for sports events increased by 95 percent, with the Twenty20 World Cup and the Six Nations among the most popular events.

Cohen also defended the company against accusations that Seatwave and rivals such as Viagogo encourage the growth of “bedroom touts,” which snap up tickets with the sole purpose of making a profit by reselling them.

He told the Telegraph the price of tickets on the secondary market has not increased as much as the face value price.