Mexico: Entertainment giant probed by regulator

The Mexican live entertainment and events empire Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE) has publicly confirmed it has received official notice from the country’s competition regulator, COFECE, of an investigation to be carried out over concerns of possible monopolistic practices in the Live Entertainment production and promotion sector, among other entertainment industry related businesses.

This is the first time the regulator has probed this salient sector, where CIE dominates the pre-sale of tickets through their TicketMaster franchise, which charges a premium of up to 15% per ticket and, according to critics, operates as a virtual monopoly pushing out other ticket-booking outfits.

CIE has handed over the requested documentation, and has said it will cooperate fully with COFECE’s investigators. The agency is currently carrying out 25 simultaneous investigations, with this latest probe adding to a very active competition season.

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