NFL confronts potential billion-dollar antitrust lawsuit regarding its Sunday Ticket subscription service
In 2015, a case was initiated concerning the NFL's distribution of games outside a local market that aren't aired nationally on other channels. The lawsuit states that limiting the broadcast of these "out-of-market" games to the Sunday Ticket package forces customers who only want to watch a specific team or a smaller group of teams to pay more.
According to the plaintiffs' attorneys, "given the relatively low cost of internet streaming and satellite and cable television carriage, each team could potentially offer their games to anyone in the country who wanted to watch that particular team without any issues." However, they argue, "the teams have all collectively chosen to forgo this opportunity in favor of creating a more lucrative monopoly."
The plaintiffs are seeking billions in potential damages, which could be tripled under antitrust law. The NFL, on the other hand, asserts that the current setup provides the widest variety of matches for fans at a good price.
Potential witnesses in this case include NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, team owners Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft, as well as executives from different television networks and DirecTV, which had held the exclusive Sunday Ticket package until Google-owned YouTube TV took over for a reported fee of $2 billion per year. YouTube currently charges fans $449 annually for this package.
This case, currently being heard in a federal court in Los Angeles, was initially dismissed by a lower court in 2017 but was later reinstated by the US Court of Appeals in 2019. This litigation is being represented by lawyers from Susman Godfrey, a well-known firm that settled the case against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems for over $787 million right before the trial was due to begin.
The NFL has a history of resolving high-profile cases with financial settlements instead of having their practices scrutinized in open court. Some of these cases include a $790 million deal to end a lawsuit by St. Louis residents who didn't agree with the relocation of the Rams to Los Angeles in 2016 and a $765 million settlement reached in 2013 establishing a fund to compensate players who sustained brain injuries due to concussions during their playing days.
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The lawsuit alleges that the NFL's exclusivity of "out-of-market" games to the Sunday Ticket package is unfair, forcing fans to pay more for viewing specific teams. This business strategy, the plaintiffs argue, allows the NFL and its teams to maintain a more profitable monopoly.
