There are 4.8 billion reasons why other leagues are watching the fallout from 'Sunday Ticket' case
Sports leagues have 4.8 billion reasons to review how they distribute out-of-market broadcasts after the judgement against the NFL in the “Sunday Ticket” case in U.S. District Court
LOS ANGELES — Professional sports leagues have 4.8 billion reasons to review how they distribute out-of-market broadcasts after Thursday's judgement against the NFL in the “Sunday Ticket” case in U.S. District Court.
“It’s going to require other leagues to take a close look at their model and make sure that the means by which they’re providing consumer choice really does ensure true choice,” said Christine Bartholomew, vice dean and professor in the University of Buffalo's School of Law. “What happened here, at least according to the jury, was that the NFL had really suppressed consumer choice. Not only did they steer the consumers towards using satellite TV, it meant that they had to buy the whole package.”
The jury of five men and three women determined the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing Sunday afternoon games not aired locally on Fox or CBS on a premium subscription service that only had one distributor. That kept the cost of the package high and limited those who could subscribe so that it would not impact local ratings.
The class-action lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and National
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