West End theater, London, is considered to represent one of the highest levels of commercial theater in the English speaking world. The “theater land” contains approximately 50 venues, attracting more than 14 million attendees in 2014. Box office ticket prices range from less than £10 for a few of the smaller shows to over £200 for some of the major productions with a famous cast. Recently, a number of these shows have begun offering tickets at half price through discount ticket outlets. These are only available on the day of the show on a first-come, first-served basis.
Using the concept of marginal cost, explain why many of these productions have begun to offer these half-price tickets.
Who do you suppose are the most and least-likely customers to purchase show tickets through these discount ticket outlets? Can you think of any reasons why a production show would choose to not offer tickets in this manner?