Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s much-anticipated antitrust case with the Department of Justice starts today in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The civil lawsuit, originally filed along with 30 states in May 2024, looks to determine if Live Nation-Ticketmaster holds a monopoly in the live events space and if, ultimately, the two businesses should be broken up. Ticketmaster has long served as the dominant ticketing provider in the sports industry.
In February, a federal judge dismissed some of the lawsuit’s scope related to Live Nation’s concert promotion services and fan impacts on the ticketing market. Last week, Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s request to dismiss the lawsuit was denied. An appeal for a delay of the trial had also not been successful.
A long list of sports and entertainment execs is expected to testify, including former Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO, John Abbamondi, current Timberwolves CEO Matt Caldwell, representatives from AEG (Live Nation’s biggest event competitor), and the leadership of ticketing providers. Puck also reported that representatives of “a dozen other franchises” like the Cowboys, Cavaliers, and Inter Miami will be in attendance.
