What is ‘open distribution’ and how is it different from the way tickets are sold today?
For decades, ticketing has been confined to a single, ‘walled garden’. An artist, team or venue signs an exclusive deal with one primary platform, and that is the only place tickets are sold.
Contrast that with today’s travel industry – airlines sell tickets on their own site, but also through global distribution networks like Expedia or Kayak to reach the widest possible audience. Open distribution brings that travel model to sports and all live events. It removes the wall between primary and secondary markets.
Instead of relying solely on one vendor, teams can now list their official inventory directly on our marketplaces – through Viagogo internationally and StubHub in North America – to reach a global audience, without breaking their existing primary contracts. It’s non-exclusive by design and the rights holder controls what is sold and at what price.
Our ambition is to create a global destination for live events – where official and resale inventory sit side-by-side in a transparent, trusted environment. Open distribution is the infrastructure that enables that.
What is the specific business problem this solves for teams, leagues, and fans?
The current system leaks revenue and doesn’t fully work for either side. Because primary distribution is restricted, teams often sell bulk blocks of tickets to brokers or consolidators.
Those intermediaries then list the tickets on marketplaces like ours and capture margins that never flow back to the rights holder. In the process, teams give up pricing control on the secondary market and forfeit the expanded reach and demand that resale channels provide.
Open distribution changes that dynamic. By distributing directly into a marketplace with global fan demand, rights holders retain control over pricing and keep the ticket revenue, while reducing reliance on middlemen.
Viagogo simply charges a booking fee and covers payment and processing costs, as we do with the rest of our marketplace. It turns a leakage of value into a new revenue stream.
Open distribution is designed to allow rights holders to reach the widest possible audience (Image credit: Getty Images)
How does a rights holder or event promoter utilise open distribution in practice?
Open distribution is designed to meet rights holders where they are and give them the flexibility to integrate with existing ticketing strategies across three core models.
First, rights holders can distribute through Viagogo and StubHub channels without giving up ticket revenue or taking on operational risk, whether through consignment or guaranteed purchase sales.
The second option is ‘dual broadcast’ or directly integrating into primary ticketing systems – through an API – so tickets flow to our marketplace in real time, straight from the source. This allows rights holders to distribute tickets simultaneously across multiple platforms while retaining full control over pricing and allocation. Fans benefit from accurate availability, transparent pricing, and tickets they can trust, all in one place.
The final option is a self-serve tool launching imminently. This will give users full control, with the ability to add, remove, or update inventory in real-time.
What is the cost to the rights holder?
Open distribution is designed to be an additional distribution channel with modern economics. Rights holders pay no seller fees when they list on Viagogo or StubHub and all ticket revenue flows back to them. We monetise only from buyer service fees.
We also absorb the costs of transaction costs, fraud checks and customer service, which means that for many organisations it can be more affordable than trying to process everything in‑house. Plus, every order is backed by our guarantee to get in or get your money back.
The other major benefit is use of long‑term market data. Access to more than 20 years of pricing and demand information helps partners set smarter prices, share less value with middlemen and improve their margins.
Does this require teams to end their relationships with primary ticketing partners?
No. Open distribution is designed to sit alongside existing primary ticketing agreements, not replace them. We do not run box offices or full primary systems and do not ask for exclusivity. Our goal is to provide reach and data to partners, not rip and replace.
We view this as a dual broadcast strategy. Teams keep their primary infrastructure but open an additional pipeline to 125 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories to move inventory that might otherwise go unsold or be undervalued. It is a complementary layer, not a replacement.
How does the fan benefit from open distribution?
For fans, the biggest shift is clarity: it creates a single view of the market. More options, clearer information and stronger guarantees – all in one place – allowing them to compare value easily.
Just as importantly, it expands access. With more tickets coming directly from the team or promoter, there is greater transparency on pricing and validity. This pushes sellers to compete on value, which can help stabilise prices and often makes events more accessible for cost‑conscious buyers.
It also increases safety. Every transaction is backed by our guarantee, meaning the fan is 100 per cent protected.
This is about meeting fans where they already are. Loyal season ticket holders may always buy directly from a club. But international travellers, casual fans and last-minute buyers often begin their journey on global marketplaces like Viagogo and StubHub.
Fans also benefit because more of what they spend flows back to the teams and artists, not intermediaries, which supports more events and better experiences.
Manchester City are among those already adopting Viagogo’s open distribution model (Image credit: Getty Images)
Are there any sports organisations that have already adopted this new model?
Adoption has been strong even before a full rollout.
Over the last 18 months, Viagogo and StubHub have signed dozens of open distribution deals across top teams, leagues and festivals, including Manchester City, Sevilla, the New York Yankees, Alpine F1, and popular Broadway shows like Hamilton and the Book of Mormon through ATG Entertainment, plus a league‑level arrangement with Major League Baseball and distribution across more than 100 venues.
Ticket sales through these open distribution channels are up around 84 per cent year‑on‑year, showing clear demand. Partners consistently highlight three benefits: access to a distinct and incremental audience (especially international travellers and high‑intent buyers), stronger data and pricing tools, and smoother operations via simplified interfaces and automation.
Primary ticketing companies, particularly non‑Ticketmaster platforms, also see value in plugging directly into StubHub as a selling point when pitching for venue and promoter business.
How do you see the ticketing market evolving in the future with the introduction of open distribution?
The trend is clear: the era of the walled garden – where one platform controls 100 per cent of a team’s inventory – is ending.
Fans, rights holders and regulators are all pushing for more transparency, competition and value, which points towards open models. We see the market shifting toward the airline model: multi-channel distribution where inventory is sold simultaneously across multiple outlets to maximise yield.
In future, rights holders will use real-time data to price their assets dynamically and distribute them wherever the demand is. Our goal is to build an open ecosystem that makes that possible across sports, arts and theatre, music and festivals, and all live events. And ultimately become the global destination where fans can discover, compare and securely purchase tickets to any live experience, anywhere in the world.
The future of ticketing will look more like a modern digital marketplace than a series of closed silos. Rights holders will see all relevant demand and price accordingly, and fans will enjoy more choice, clearer pricing and stronger protections wherever they choose to buy.
Shaun Stewart will be speaking on day two of SportsPro New York, which takes place at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on 12th and 13th March. To find out more about the event, click here.
