When digital platforms fail: a situational crisis communication theory analysis of Ticketmaster’s service breakdown

Purpose This study examines Ticketmaster’s crisis communication strategies during the high-profile collapse of its ticketing platform for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale. The research evaluates whether the company’s response strategies aligned with stakeholder attributions of responsibility and best practices for managing preventable service crises in digital platform contexts. Additionally, the study traces how stakeholder reactions evolved from technical frustration to moral outrage, applying Coombs and Tachkova (2022) crisis-to-scandal framework. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a qualitative case study methodology, the research analyzes official company statements, news media coverage and public discourse on social media. The study employs situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of Ticketmaster’s crisis responses in relation to stakeholder expectations. Findings The analysis reveals that Ticketmaster primarily relied on denial, justification, excusing, bolstering and partial apology, rather than rebuilding strategies such as apology and compensation, as prescribed by SCCT for high-responsibility, preventable crises. This misalignment between stakeholder expectations and company responses intensified public dissatisfaction, heightened regulatory scrutiny and contributed to ongoing reputational harm. Furthermore, stakeholder discourse shifted from situational frustration to accusations of greed, exploitation and deception, transforming a manageable service crisis into a scandal that culminated in the 2024 Department of Justice lawsuit. Originality/value This study extends the application of SCCT to a large-scale digital service failure in the platform economy, a context that remains underexplored in crisis communication literature. It demonstrates the importance of aligning crisis response strategies with stakeholder attributions of responsibility and offers actionable insights for managing reputational risk in technology-driven service environments. The study also provides empirical support for the crisis-to-scandal framework, showing how inadequate organizational responses can precipitate the escalation from operational failure to reputational scandal.