Business
Ticketmaster agrees to give fans better price information after Oasis investigation

Chi Chi IzunduInvestigations correspondent and
Mark SavageMusic correspondent

Ticketmaster will have to give music fans more advance information about ticket prices, after complaints about the system used for Oasis’s reunion tour last year.
The Competition and Markets Authority says the company has agreed to tell fans 24 hours in advance if a tiered pricing system is being used, as it was for Oasis tickets, and give more information about ticket prices during online queues.
It comes after the CMA said Ticketmaster “may have misled Oasis fans” with unclear pricing last year.
Platinum tickets sold for almost two-and-a-half times the standard price, but Ticketmaster did not explain to consumers that they came without extra benefits.
As a result of the CMA investigation, Ticketmaster will have to provide more information about prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay.
It will also have to use accurate labelling, to ensure the site does “not give the impression that one ticket is better than another when that is not the case”, the CMA said.
The company will also have to regularly report to the CMA over the next two years to ensure it is adhering to the new compliance.

“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
“If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
The CMA also said it had not made any findings about whether consumer law was infringed.
A spokesperson for Ticketmaster said in a statement: “We welcome the CMA’s confirmation there was no dynamic pricing, no unfair practices and that we did not breach consumer law.
“To further improve the customer experience, we’ve voluntarily committed to clearer communication about ticket prices in queues.
“This builds on our capped resale, strong bot protection, and clear pricing displays – and we encourage the CMA to hold the entire industry to these same standards.”
‘No dynamic pricing’
The launch of Oasis’s highly-anticipated reunion tour last year descended into chaos, as fans found themselves paying hundreds of pounds more than they expected.
Many expressed outrage over allegations that Ticketmaster used “dynamic pricing” – where ticket prices rise and fall according to demand – prompting the CMA to launch an investigation into the sale.
However the CMA said it had “not found evidence” that such an algorithmic pricing system had been used to adjust the price of Oasis tickets in real time.
The confusion seems to have arisen because identical or adjacent tickets were often sold for wildly varying prices, a practice known as tiered pricing.
Although these fees were set in advance, the cheaper ones naturally sold first, leaving only the more expensive ones – leading to an impression that the prices were being hiked due to demand.
Even Oasis appeared to believe that dynamic pricing had been employed, issuing a statement saying they had not agreed to the practice in advance.
However, the boss of Ticketmaster UK told MPs that prices did “not move during the on-sale period”.
“There’s no technology-driven change to those prices,” said Andrew Parsons, appearing before the Business and Trade Select Committee this February.
“They are the prices which humans have agreed to. There’s not a computer or a bot behind it.”
Fans ‘feel let down’
Consumer magazine Which? welcomed the CMA putting pressure on Ticketmaster to make its prices clearer, but said the settlement didn’t go far enough.
“While it’s positive that Ticketmaster has agreed to follow the rules moving forward, it is disappointing that the CMA is not using its power to demand refunds for fans,” said Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert for the magazine.
“Those who felt ripped off when buying Oasis tickets last year will undoubtedly feel let down that Ticketmaster hasn’t been held to account for its past behaviour.
“Since this incident the CMA has been given stronger powers. It needs to show that it is willing to use them to create a meaningful deterrent for breaches of consumer law.”

The CMA’s action comes as Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation face legal action in the US over allegations they allowed brokers to buy up millions of dollars of tickets and resell them at higher prices.
The lawsuit was filed in California by the Federal Trade Commission and seven US states, and accused Ticketmaster of deceptive practices, including advertising lower prices that were actually unavailable.
The lawsuit also alleged that, in one instance, a broker had been able to purchase more than 9,000 tickets for a single concert during Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance tour.
When some of those tickets were resold on Ticketmaster at a higher price, the company was able to collect additional fees, the lawsuit alleged.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have yet to respond.
Meanwhile, Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino has said he thinks concert tickets are underpriced.
Speaking at the Game Plan conference in Los Angeles last week, Rapino compared rock and pop shows to sporting events, telling Rolling Stone: “In sports, I joke it’s like a badge of honour to spend $70,000 for a Knicks courtside [seat],” but “they beat me up if we charge $800 for Beyoncé.”
The average price of a concert ticket rose 23.3% globally last year, according to data from the live industry trade publication Pollstar, reaching a record high of $130.81 (£104.36).
But Rapino said there was “a lot of runway left” in terms of price increases.
“When you read about ticket prices going up, the average concert price is still $72. Try going to a Laker game for that, and there’s 80 of them. The concert is underpriced and has been for a long time.”
Business
Tata Motors Shares Dip 3% As €2 Billion Loss From JLR Cyberattack May Exceed FY25 Profit

New Delhi: Shares of Tata Motors fell around 2.99 per cent in early trading on Thursday following reports that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), its British subsidiary, could incur a potential uninsured loss of approximately €2 billion due to a cyberattack that disrupted production. The impact could surpass JLR’s total profit from the last fiscal year, said a report from The Financial Times.
JLR had not finalised a cyber insurance policy brokered by Lockton, potentially leaving the automaker uninsured for the attack, according to multiple media reports. The cyberattack, which occurred on September 2, has forced the company to repeatedly push back its production schedule. JLR announced it will extend factory closures until October 1 while addressing global IT issues and preparing for a phased restart of operations.
“We are working at pace to resolve global IT issues impacting our business. We will provide an update as appropriate in due course,” Tata Motors said in a statement earlier this month. The company’s three UK plants in Solihull, Halewood, and Wolverhampton used to produce approximately 1,000 cars daily, with reports estimating losses of around £50 million per week due to the plants being shut down.
JLR is carrying out a forensic investigation into the cyberattack and has said that operations will restart gradually in a controlled manner.
During FY25, Jaguar Land Rover contributed 72 per cent to Tata Motors’ total automotive revenue, higher than its contribution in FY24, indicating stronger growth at JLR compared to Tata’s domestic vehicle segment.
Meanwhile, in India, Tata Motors recorded approximately 10,000 car deliveries and over 25,000 enquiries on the first day of Navaratri, marking a strong start to the festive season. Over the past year, Tata Motors shares dipped Rs 300.90, a decline of 31.23 per cent.
Business
Walmart teams up with Spain’s La Liga, furthering the retailer’s investment in soccer

Real Madrid’s Spanish defender #20 Francisco Garcia fights for the ball with Barcelona’s Spanish forward #19 Lamine Yamal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona, on May 11, 2025.
Lluis Gene | Afp | Getty Images
Walmart is bringing its brand to the biggest match in soccer.
The nation’s largest retailer plans to announce Thursday a partnership with Spanish soccer league La Liga as it looks to expand its foothold in soccer and capitalize on its growing fandom in the U.S.
Under the partnership, Walmart will become the first presenting partner of La Liga’s “El Clásico,” a rivalry matchup between its two powerhouse teams: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF.
“Teaming up with La Liga and El Clásico enables Walmart to fuel the energy create unforgettable experiences and give fans more ways to celebrate the game that they love,” Walmart Chief Marketing Officer William White told CNBC in an interview. “Ultimately, Walmart is looking to make it easier for fans to engage and participate in the game.”
The partnership will include a new logo featuring Walmart as the presenting partner for the rivalry matchup, which will be used across the U.S. and Canada and debut this season.
The rivalry game dates back to 1929 and has routinely attracted 650 million viewers across more than 180 countries, according to Walmart and La Liga.
The first El Clásico, which translates to “the classic” in Spanish, of the 2025-26 season is scheduled for Oct. 26 in Madrid, with the second match on May 10 in Barcelona.
Walmart and La Liga will launch the partnership ahead of the first match-up with a full weekend of fan events in Houston starting Oct. 24. The partnership will include large-scale viewing parties, concerts, meet-and-greets with former stars, co-branded merchandise and retail promotions.
“The U.S. is the top market for the league [La Liga] in terms of audience and business outside of Spain,” said Boris Gartner, partner and president at Relevant Sports, which together with La Liga formed the 50-50 venture La Liga North America to represent the Spanish league in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America.
La Liga North America manages the league’s media rights and commercial agreements.
“This is not just about slapping two logos side by side. This is a true partnership with what we’re building,” Gartner said.
Spanish powerhouse clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona have been home to some of the biggest global names in soccer — including superstar Lionel Messi, who played for Barcelona until 2021 and now plays for Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami, and more recently the young French star Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid.
In the U.S., Disney’s ESPN airs La Liga games on its streaming platforms and TV networks. The company said in August the 2024-2025 season was its most successful for the league on ESPN platforms yet, with 5.4 billion minutes viewed across its networks and streaming services.
The Spanish league’s multi-year deal with Walmart is meant to build on this growing audience for La Liga soccer in the U.S., as well as the growing soccer fanbase ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
“We came in knowing that the World Cup was happening in 2026 and that the sport was growing significantly in in the U.S., and that we needed to be part of that growth not just from a business perspective for the league in the large media market in the world, but also with the opportunity to help fuel the growth of the sport,” Gartner said.
In July, Walmart struck a multi-year deal with MLS to become an official sponsor and partner of the league. As of early May, MLS sponsorship revenue was up double-digits compared with 2024, CNBC reported earlier this year. Likewise, the U.S. soccer fanbase has surged, particularly since Messi joined the MLS ranks in 2023.
Business
Farage presses Bank governor on cryptocurrency and quantitative easing

Nigel Farage has urged the Bank of England to welcome cryptocurrency and change its approach to quantitative easing during his first formal meeting with its governor.
The Reform UK leader, who has previously described Bank governor Andrew Bailey as “hopeless”, suggested the meeting had been a positive one.
Mr Farage’s deputy Richard Tice, who also attended the meeting, described it as a “significant moment” and said Mr Bailey was “keen to engage”.
Ahead of the meeting at Threadneedle Street, Mr Farage said he wanted to discuss cryptocurrency with the governor, describing the UK’s current approach as “madness”, while Mr Tice said he wanted to address the cost of the Bank’s money printing programme.
Mr Farage has become a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency in recent years, announcing in May that Reform would begin accepting donations in Bitcoin and calling for the Bank to create a “strategic reserve” of the digital asset.
He also said the Bank was “turning their back on it (cryptocurrency) completely”.
After the meeting, he said their discussion of cryptocurrency had been “encouraging”, but he thought the Bank was still “moving a little too slowly” on the issue.
He said: “I think they’re adopting an overly cautious approach. What he did say was, in that world, that they are looking at it.
“He said ‘our minds are not closed on this issue’.”
Mr Tice also welcomed Mr Bailey’s comments on quantitative easing and quantitative tightening, which Reform has previously criticised as causing significant taxpayer losses.
The party has pledged to save “tens of billions” of pounds by stopping interest payments on central bank deposits and halting quantitative tightening.
Mr Tice has called for a debate on the subject in Parliament to take place ahead of the Budget in November, saying it could change the Chancellor’s calculations.
He said: “We had an important, big discussion about quantitative easing, whether the Bank should be paying interest on that, and what we’ve agreed is, actually, this is a matter for Parliament.”
Mr Farage said: “The debate Richard is trying to have, the governor didn’t say ‘no’, he said we should be having that debate.”
The Reform leader also insisted he had not called for a further interest rate cut, despite reports suggesting he would, telling reporters: “That’s not our job to do that.”
He did not answer when asked whether the Bank’s independence would be safe under a Reform government, saying: “What I think the problem is, I’m not actually sure that in Parliament anyone really understands what the relationship between fiscal policy, monetary policy and the relationship with the Bank is.”
Talking to reporters ahead of his meeting with Mr Bailey, Mr Farage also suggested he would return financial regulation to the Bank of England, claiming the 2008 financial crash would have been less “severe” if the City had not been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Meanwhile, research by campaign group Best for Britain suggested Mr Farage and his party remain vulnerable on the economy.
A survey of 3,000 would-be Reform voters carried out by YouGov found 57% rated attacks on Mr Farage’s spending plans and economic credentials the “most convincing” of a series of negative statements about the party.
Commenting on the results, Labour MP Liam Byrne urged his own party to “reset” its strategy on Reform and “take ruthless aim at the weak centre of their offer”.
The chairman of the Commons Business and Trade Committee said: “The reality is Nigel Farage is Liz Truss 2.0 – a false preacher of patriotism who would leave Britain poorer but the richest richer.
“He flirts with US-style health insurance, he cheered on the Truss mini-budget and now he’s peddling billions in unfunded promises that mean one thing for working families: higher mortgages, higher bills, weaker rights at work and longer NHS queues.”
-
Fashion1 week ago
Canadian brand Roots’ Q2 FY25 sales rise 6.3%, DTC growth hits 12.7%
-
Tech1 week ago
If every US home and personal vehicle goes electric, power outages could spike unless key measures are taken
-
Tech5 days ago
Americans would dominate board of new TikTok US entity: W.House
-
Tech1 week ago
The DOGE Subcommittee Hearing on Weather Modification Was a Nest of Conspiracy Theorizing
-
Tech1 week ago
You Can Get a Mac Desktop for Less Than $500 Today
-
Sports1 week ago
Commanders get final approval to build new stadium at RFK site after DC Council vote
-
Fashion1 week ago
Italy’s Zegna H1 profit surges as DTC drives 82% of branded sales
-
Fashion5 days ago
Trützschler set to showcase textile tech at ITMA Asia 2025