BBC Breakfast viewers were forced to speak up during a spirited debate over concert ticket prices.
Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty hosted Friday’s (January 10) show, touching upon various international news items. As they welcomed Labour MP Lisa Nandy to the sofa, the conversation turned to resold tickets for live events.
Lisa, the UK’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, discussed the government’s move to put a cap on the price of resale tickets for concerts, sports and other events.
In an effort to stop fans from being priced out by resold tickets, Lisa articulated the government’s intervention. She expressed her take on the issue: “I believe music belongs to fans, and fans make the music industry what it is!”
However, Naga didn’t miss a beat, pointing out that there have always been fans willing to cough up huge sums for event tickets, reports the Express.
Lisa countered: “They want to buy tickets but they can’t buy tickets because I don’t know anyone in this country that can afford £1000 for a ticket.”
To which Naga swiftly responded: “Well, there are lots of people who can afford £1,000 and will and who did! ” She maintained her stance despite the MP’s evident astonishment, insisting, “There are! Because people bought them!”
“It’s a ridiculous amount of money, of course, but people were willing to pay for it, that’s the problem, so if they know there’s a market there, they’re going to carry on doing it.”
Charlie then interjected, seeking clarity on whether the government was introducing new legislation to tackle the issue of greedy ticket touts. However, viewers felt the presenters may have been overly critical of Lisa Nandy, as she faced strong opposition from the renowned news anchors.
Taking to social media platform X, one viewer commented: “Naga and Charlie unnecessarily harsh with Lisa Nandy on ticket pricing.”
Another viewer agreed, saying: “Why are Charlie and Naga giving Nandy a hard time for trying to stop ticket touts and predatory ticketing prices? It’s a good thing for Bob’s sake! “.
A third viewer added: “Naga seems ok with touts. I spent 6 hours trying to get Oasis tickets, not prepared to pay £1400 for two, but Naga would apparently and sees it as legitimate.”
However, some viewers sided with the presenter, with one remarking: “Has she not got bigger problems to deal with in the UK apart from ticket touters.”
BBC Breakfast airs Mondays-Sundays from 6am on BBC One.