Nearly half of Canadians polled want TicketsNow to be closed

Ticketmaster Entertainment continues to battle with a public relations problem in Canada over the company’s TicketsNow secondary ticketing subsidiary.

As reported by The Province in Vancouver, BC, a recent survey conducted by polling and public opinion company Angus Reid Global Monitor said that 49 percent of those polled are not enamored of TicketsNow and believe it should be shut down because they believe Ticketmaster is using the Web site to overcharge fans.

Almost as many fans surveyed had no opinion of TicketsNow, about 44 percent, but only 7 percent had a favorable opinion of the subsidiary. Details about when and how the survey was conducted and the number of respondents were not available.

In recent months, Ticketmaster has been blasted in Canada over its connection with TicketsNow and the way the two entities have handled ticket sales for Elton John and Leonard Cohen tickets, among others.

Ticketmaster has steadfastly denied that any problems customers may have faced were caused on purpose, but the company has admitted to experiencing certain “glitches” with its ticket order processing.

News of the survey comes as Ticketmaster tries to convince U.S. federal regulators to approve its proposed merger with Live Nation, and following the company’s admission that it was going to be turning over broker client information to authorities.