Battle of the Blades ticket floggers provoke ire
Comments sharp as $5 tickets spiral over $100
Last Updated: Friday, October 23, 2009 | 6:47 PM ET
CBC News
Former NHLer Tie Domi and figure skater Christine Hough-Sweeney skate during the media event for the CBC series "Battle of the Blades." (Canadian Press) Tickets for the Battle of the Blades, initially priced at $5, are now being sold for up to $145 each on Canadian and U.S. websites, including a controversial reseller owned by Ticketmaster.
The tickets for the CBC-TV program were modestly priced to ensure anyone could afford them.
The show's popularity has skyrocketed, however, and tickets are being snapped up by people with the intention of selling them for big profits.
On TicketsNow.com, owned by Ticketmaster, vendors were offering tickets for Monday at prices ranging from $74 to $85. Tickets were going for $97 for the more popular show on Nov. 1, a Sunday.
The show, shot before a live audience at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, features former NHLers and accomplished figure skaters competing as pairs. The episodes produced on Sundays are in greater demand because all of the pairs skate their routines, while Monday shows primarily reveal results.
The ticket availability issue is making the rounds in social media, and people are venting on the Battle of the Blades Facebook page.
Kristina Lenko and Bob Probert perform at the first week's skate-off episode. Tickets intially sold for $5 are being resold online for up to $145. (Canadian Press) Sharlene Kopec detailed her disappointment in a posting this week.
"I attempted to purchase tickets for the November 1st show. I went online and phoned the Ticketmaster number simultaneously at noon on Monday, October 19th. How the tickets could all be sold out at 12:01 is mystifying to me.
"This evening, I went on the TicketsNow website, 'A resale marketplace from Ticketmaster,' yes, TICKETMASTER!!!! and found that yes, tickets are available to purchase for $97 apiece."
Kopec questioned why CBC chose Ticketmaster as a venue to sell tickets, saying, "perhaps the CBC would be wise to make tickets available to the public through some other means that doesn't involve people getting bilked!"
'We're not diverting tickets': Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster expressed concern people might think something nefarious was going on behind the scenes.
"I think the key thing that people must understand is that we're not diverting tickets to TicketsNow," said Joe Freeman, a Ticketmaster senior vice-president.
"We received a very limited number of tickets and we sold each and every one of those tickets to individual people. We understand people's frustration, but the laws of supply and demand kicked in."
Freeman said people should not be so surprised that the limited block of tickets sold within minutes of being released.
"If there's demand for those tickets, they can be sold within minutes," he said.
Battle of the Blades joined in its own Facebook discussion, noting that it has become "one of the hottest tickets in town" and the Sunday show "routinely sells out within a matter of minutes."
More than 1.9 million viewers tuned into the program's debut Oct. 4. The finale is Nov. 16.
Battle of the Blades explained that it chose Ticketmaster because of the large volume of ticket sales, but the program expressed concern about the pricey resales.
"We are aware that some people have been reselling tickets on Ticketmaster's 'TicketsNow' service, which allows for the resale of tickets for certain events. We have spoken to Ticketmaster about this situation and have brought your concerns forward."
'Selling them on eBay for $108'
Ottawa resident Janice Tanisaka-Ignatowicz was one of the fans unable to get tickets. "Some people are even selling them on eBay for $108," she posted on Facebook.
On the reseller website ShowTimeTickets.com, one seller had posted 24 tickets, with prices ranging from $90 to $145.
On eBay, an American vendor was selling batches of eight and 16 tickets, with prices ranging from $102.41 to $113.92. Shipping was extra, at $20.92.
CBC spokesman Chris Ball agreed it is likely hundreds of thousands of people were trying to buy tickets when a block for the Sunday show was released.
And he doesn't think demand is going to fall.
"We knew we had a strong concept, bringing two sports together that Canadians love, and as interest builds through out the season, more people will want to watch it," Ball said.
