KRK
  • KRK
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
5 years ago
NFL Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider Class Action Over Sunday Ticket TV
BY MATTHEW VADUM March 5, 2020 Updated: March 5, 2020

The Supreme Court may soon rule on whether an appeals court decision that revived a class-action lawsuit claiming that DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket, which bundles all NFL games into a package available exclusively to subscribers of the company’s satellite television service, runs afoul of federal antitrust laws.

The court could decide as soon as March 6 if it will hear the appeal, cited as National Football League v. Ninth Inning Inc. The NFL, an unincorporated association of 32 member clubs, and DirecTV, were sued by plaintiffs Ninth Inning Inc., 1465 Third Avenue Restaurant Corp., Robert Gary Lippincott Jr., and Michael Holinko.

The NFL and DirecTV are urging the Supreme Court to consider their appeal.

Attorneys for both organizations argue that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made a legal mistake when on Aug. 13, 2019, it ordered a class-action suit reopened that claims the Sunday Ticket package forces football fans to “pay more for games than they want,” contrary to a federal law known as the Sherman Act.

The law forbids competing businesses from working together to raise prices and limit consumer choice. The appeals court undid a lower court’s dismissal of an action brought in 2015 by a group of fans, bars, and restaurants who purchased the Sunday Ticket package.

According to court documents, each of the NFL teams signed an agreement with the NFL to pool their telecasting rights and provide the NFL the authority to exercise those rights. Acting on behalf of the teams, the NFL made two additional agreements licensing the teams’ telecast rights with CBS and Fox. The two television networks are permitted to broadcast a limited number of games through free, over-the-air television.

The agreement between the NFL and the two networks allows DirecTV to package those telecasts as bundled feeds to Sunday Ticket subscribers. The plaintiffs say these agreements function to limit competition for the sale of professional football game telecasts.

Watching football on the small screen on Sundays can get expensive.

“If Baltimore Ravens fans living in Miami want to see a live telecast of their team’s game on any given Sunday, the only option is to buy an entire season of DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket for $293. The same is true for Eagles fans in Los Angeles, Patriots fans in Chicago, or any NFL fan rooting for a faraway team,” ESPN reports.

In the opinion written by Judge Sandra S. Ikuta last year, the circuit court seemed to express sympathy for TV viewers as it found there may be an antitrust law violation.

“Every Sunday during football season, millions of National Football League (NFL) fans tune in to watch their team play. If they live in the same area as their favorite team—such as Los Angeles Rams fans who live in Los Angeles—they can tune into their local Fox or CBS station to enjoy their team’s game on free, over-the-air television. But if NFL fans happen to live far away from their favorite team—such as Seattle Seahawks fans residing in Los Angeles—they can watch every Seahawks game only if they purchase DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket, a bundled package of all NFL games available exclusively to subscribers of DirecTV’s satellite television service.”


The plaintiffs, Ikuta noted, claim that if this restrictive arrangement didn’t exist, “the individual teams would create multiple telecasts of each game and would compete against one another by distributing telecasts of their games through various cable, satellite, and internet channels.”

An NFL loss in the litigation would help consumers, one expert told ESPN.

“If the NFL were to lose, I don’t think it is necessarily so dramatic in terms of the way you will watch NFL on satellite or cable,” Stefan Szymanski, a sports economist at the University of Michigan, was quoted as saying. “But it should be good news for consumers because they should be paying less” for games outside their market.
In Luce tua Videmus Lucem KRK
Cheesey
5 years ago
NO action the NFL shows has class!😊
UserPostedImage
dyeah_gb
5 years ago

[size=6]
...
The plaintiffs, Ikuta noted, claim that if this restrictive arrangement didn’t exist, “the individual teams would create multiple telecasts of each game and would compete against one another by distributing telecasts of their games through various cable, satellite, and internet channels.”

...

Originally Posted by: KRK 



Can't let that darn competition and consumer choice get in the way of NFL business practices. To be fair though, I can always choose to watch something else as a consumer like soccer or golf or paint drying.


The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool - R. Feynman
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : WR who said he'd break Xavier Worthy 40 time...and ran slower than you
Mucky Tundra (2-Apr) : Who?
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : Texas’ WR Isaiah Bond is scheduled to visit the Bills, Browns, Chiefs, Falcons, Packers and Titans starting next week.
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : Spotting ball isn't changing, only measuring distance is, Which wasn't the issue.
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : The spotting of the ball IS the issue. Not the chain gang.
Mucky Tundra (2-Apr) : Will there be a tracker on the ball or something?
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : uh oh
Martha Careful (1-Apr) : Too bad camera's can't spot the ball as well.
Mucky Tundra (1-Apr) : So will the chain gang be gone completely or will they still be around as a backup or whatever?
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : The method for measuring first downs in the NFL will switch from chain gangs to camera-based technology in 2025, the league announced.
Martha Careful (1-Apr) : A big step in the right direction. Just put in the college system is very very good.
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : NFL has passed a rule that allows both teams to possess the ball in OT during the regular season
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : Touchbacks on kickoffs will now bring the ball to the 35-yard line.
beast (31-Mar) : It might of gotten more popular recently, but braiding hair (even men) in certain cultures goes back for centuries.
Martha Careful (30-Mar) : Is men braiding their hair a new style thing? Watching the NCAA men's tournament many players have done
Zero2Cool (29-Mar) : Ha. Well, it'd be nice for folks to reset their own password. Via validated email 😏
beast (29-Mar) : Monopoly was supposed to be an educational game, that show how evil capitalism was and how we should avoid it
beast (29-Mar) : Lol, I was thinking username would be better, as then I wouldn't have to keep an email up to date lol 😂
beast (29-Mar) : Zero2Cool (25-Mar) : I was thinking email because I think it'll make folks keep it up todate lol
wpr (29-Mar) : sure is
Zero2Cool (29-Mar) : Monopoly is a rip off of The Landlord's Game
wpr (27-Mar) : 28 days until the draft
earthquake (27-Mar) : Which seemed strange to my 9 year old self, that you could be a fan for a team other than the one you play for
earthquake (27-Mar) : Nothing eventful happened, other than it being clear that he was a bengals fan
earthquake (27-Mar) : And we went and hung out with him one afternoon, I must have been 9 or so
earthquake (27-Mar) : That’s wild, when I was a kid my friend lived in the same apartment complex in De Pere
Mucky Tundra (27-Mar) : Only career highspot was a 200 yard rushing game while playing for the Cardinals
Mucky Tundra (27-Mar) : He is a former Packer. Drafted out of Northern Illinois. Didn't do much in GB.
dfosterf (26-Mar) : Despicable
Zero2Cool (26-Mar) : Former NFL. I think Packers too
Zero2Cool (26-Mar) : NFL RB Leshon Johnson has been charged in a massive dog fighting operation, with the FBI seizing over 190 Pit Bulls
Mucky Tundra (26-Mar) : Some real irony of a QB as short as Wilson playing for the Giants
Mucky Tundra (26-Mar) : Giants country, let's be the tall beings of lore!
Mucky Tundra (26-Mar) : Russell Wilson signs with the Giants.
Zero2Cool (25-Mar) : I was thinking email because I think it'll make folks keep it up todate lol
wpr (25-Mar) : I don't think there is a significant difference. I use a user name for many. Others email.
Martha Careful (25-Mar) : email
Zero2Cool (25-Mar) : would it be better to use EMAIL or USERNAME to log into a site?
wpr (25-Mar) : Thanks Zero
Zero2Cool (24-Mar) : New forum has the ability to Thank a post now.
beast (24-Mar) : And the only time they have won the Championship in an even year, was the first time they did, in 2006.
beast (24-Mar) : Since 2007, there have been 10 odd numbered years, Wisconsin Women have won the Championship in 7 of those 10 odd numbered years.
buckeyepackfan (24-Mar) : Congratulations Lady Badger Hockey Team. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
Zero2Cool (23-Mar) : I don't think it's completed yet. it was just announced last month, right?
dhazer (23-Mar) : did netflix ever release the Packers documentary
Zero2Cool (21-Mar) : And it is glorious!
beast (21-Mar) : Unsigned FA QB Rodgers is supposedly in the Steelers building
Martha Careful (19-Mar) : But I don't own a car! So can I still use it in my apartment?
Zero2Cool (19-Mar) : btw, new site auto updates
Zero2Cool (19-Mar) : Woohoo!
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2024 Packers Schedule
Friday, Sep 6 @ 7:15 PM
Eagles
Sunday, Sep 15 @ 12:00 PM
COLTS
Sunday, Sep 22 @ 12:00 PM
Titans
Sunday, Sep 29 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Sunday, Oct 6 @ 3:25 PM
Rams
Sunday, Oct 13 @ 12:00 PM
CARDINALS
Sunday, Oct 20 @ 12:00 PM
TEXANS
Sunday, Oct 27 @ 12:00 PM
Jaguars
Sunday, Nov 3 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Sunday, Nov 17 @ 12:00 PM
Bears
Sunday, Nov 24 @ 3:25 PM
49ERS
Thursday, Nov 28 @ 7:20 PM
DOLPHINS
Thursday, Dec 5 @ 7:15 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 15 @ 7:20 PM
Seahawks
Monday, Dec 23 @ 7:15 PM
SAINTS
Sunday, Dec 29 @ 3:25 PM
Vikings
Sunday, Jan 5 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Jan 12 @ 3:30 PM
Eagles
Recent Topics
3h / Feedback, Suggestions and Issues / Zero2Cool

2-Apr / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

2-Apr / Green Bay Packers Talk / bboystyle

1-Apr / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

1-Apr / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

31-Mar / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

30-Mar / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

29-Mar / Random Babble / wpr

28-Mar / Feedback, Suggestions and Issues / dfosterf

28-Mar / Random Babble / Martha Careful

26-Mar / Random Babble / Mucky Tundra

25-Mar / Random Babble / Martha Careful

24-Mar / Random Babble / packerfanoutwest

24-Mar / Random Babble / Zero2Cool

21-Mar / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.