US: NFL, NBC, Fox, CBS, ESPN & DirecTV hit with antitrust lawsuit

Legal action against the National Football League over anticompetitive practices have been piling up of late like a ten yard fight on any given Sunday.

Now there’s a new player on the field with a sprawling new antitrust class action lawsuit filed late last week against not just every single team in the NFL and Sunday Ticket package providers DirecTV but also NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN.

“The 32 professional football teams that compete in the National Football League (‘NFL’) have agreed among themselves to eliminate all competition in the broadcasting and sale of live video presentations of professional football games,” says the October 16 jury seeking complaint filed by lawyers for NYC’s Bounce Sporting Club, other establishments and Oakland resident Jonathan Frantz.

“The Teams have agreed not to avail themselves of cable, satellite, or Internet distribution channels individually,” the 40-page injunction seeking filing in federal court adds. “On information and belief, DirecTV’s contracts with the NFL include clauses mandating that the NFL and its Teams retain that anticompetitive scheme,” it also says of the weekly package the satellite provider offers for over $340 a season to individual fans.

Full content: The Hollywood Reporter

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