Four major broadcasters with rights to televise NFL games got some good news on Friday when they were dropped from an antitrust lawsuit claiming collusion in the way that professional football broadcast deals have been set up. The putative class action alleging that DirecTV “Sunday Ticket” customers suffer from anti-competitive pricing and restrictive supply continues to rage, but only the NFL, its teams and the satcaster will have to defend it moving forward.
Beginning last summer, “Sunday Ticket” was the subject of more than a dozen lawsuits including one brought on behalf of bars and restaurants paying as much as $120,000 per year to show its patrons games. The legal onslaught occurred after plaintiffs in a similar case against the MLB, the NHL, and its regional sports network partners experienced success via a certification of a class actionand settlements.
As a result of the flurry of lawsuits, the “Sunday Ticket” cases were consolidated as part of the multidistrict litigation (MDL) process. Since then, the various plaintiff attorney law firms have been fighting amongst themselves about who would be leading the charge.
In May, the judge settled that issue by deciding which four firms — Hausfeld; Susman Godfrey; Robins Kaplan; and Langer, Grogan & Diver — would be acting as co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel. Five other firms including Cohen Milstein were regulated to a steering committee.
Full Content: Hollywood Reporter
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Turkey Fines Meta $10.4 Million for Abusing Market Dominance
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Canadian Watchdog Launches Inquiry into Lululemon’s Greenwashing Practices
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Massachusetts Supreme Court Deliberates Ballot Redefining Gig Worker Status
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
European Commission Approves Nippon Steel’s $14.9 Billion Buyout of U.S. Steel
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Banco Sabadell Rejects Rival BBVA Merger Proposal
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI