StubHub Expands Into Primary Ticketing

StubHub is trying to stop being just the place where tickets get resold, and become part of the system that creates ticket supply in the first place. That matters because primary ticketing gives it direct access to inventory, better economics on each sale, and a way to compete more directly with Ticketmaster and AXS, which have long won by controlling venue and league relationships rather than just winning buyer traffic.

• Today, StubHub already has real traction in direct issuance, with more than $100 million in direct issuance GMS and about 1 percent of gross sales volume coming from direct ticket sales. This is still small, but it shows the product is live and monetizing, not just a future plan.
  1 sacra
• The MLB deal is the clearest signal of how the model works. Starting ahead of the 2026 season, MLB can push primary inventory through StubHub using StubHub's direct issuance technology, which lets rights holders distribute fresh tickets into the same marketplace where StubHub already has global demand and pricing data.
  3 stubhub
• This move also changes the competitive equation. Ticketmaster still has huge structural advantages in primary, with Live Nation reporting Ticketmaster primary ticketing volume up 5 percent and GTV up 10 percent for 2025 events, while StubHub's own research notes Ticketmaster controls roughly 70 percent of major U.S. venue primary relationships. StubHub is responding by selling venues and leagues on distribution reach instead of venue ownership.
  1 sacra 4 stubhub 5 livenationentertainment

If StubHub keeps landing league, promoter, and venue partnerships, the business shifts toward a stronger mix of owned supply and not just marketplace intermediation. That would make margins less dependent on seller fees, reduce reliance on paid acquisition for scarce inventory, and give StubHub a clearer path to becoming a full stack ticketing platform across primary and resale.