Here's what you need to know about the lawsuit against the NFL by 'Sunday Ticket' subscribers
The way the NFL can distribute its package of out-of-market games could be decided in federal court as the result of a class-action lawsuit
LOS ANGELES — The way the NFL can distribute its package of out-of-market games could be decided in federal court as the result of a class-action lawsuit.
Subscribers to the NFL's “Sunday Ticket” package are claiming the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games airing on CBS and Fox at what the lawsuit says was an inflated price. The subscribers also claim the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL maintains it has the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs say that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
The case got underway on June 6 in Los Angeles.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco. On June 30, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell dismissed the lawsuit and ruled for the NFL because she said “Sunday Ticket” did not reduce output of NFL games and that even though DirecTV might have charged inflated prices, that did not “on its own, constitute harm to competition” because it had to negotiate with the NFL to carry the package. Two years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. On Feb. 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled the case could proceed as a class action. Gutierrez on Jan. 12 rejected a final attempt by the NFL to dismiss the case.
The class action applies to more than 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses, mostly bars
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