KRK
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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
beast (16h) : Yeah, but also some of the wording suggestions Jax only pranked called the QB, not the others... and if he had an open spreadsheet & 3 calls
beast (16h) : Thank goodness he's not leaving the Turtle in the Red Tide
Mucky Tundra (16h) : Cowboys 1st round pick Tyler Booker will indeed be bringing his pet turtle to Dallas with him
Mucky Tundra (17h) : that contained all prospects info and contact
Mucky Tundra (17h) : beast, according the Falcons statement Jax came across it on an ipad. If I had to guess, probably an open spread sheet or something
Zero2Cool (17h) : Simmons put up an emoji with cheese.
beast (17h) : Not sure anyone is interested in Isaiah Simmons... Collin Oliver might of taken his potential slot
beast (17h) : I'm going with Jax Ulbrich is not telling the whole truth... he accidentally came across it? Why would a defensive coordinator have a QB #?
Zero2Cool (18h) : He's not that great, but final piece of the script.\
Zero2Cool (18h) : If we add Isaiah Simmons, book your Super Bowl tickets
Mucky Tundra (18h) : Colts 1st round TE Tyler Warren also got prank called, was that Jax Ulbrich as well?
Zero2Cool (18h) : Jax Ulbrich, Jeff Ulbrich’s son, released an apology for his role in the Shedeur Sanders prank call.
Martha Careful (18h) : apparently he did not participate in practice or play on the east west shrine game nor the NFL combine. The kid was a mediocre spoiled brat
Mucky Tundra (19h) : Yeah that one that was a super wounded duck that Sanders supporters are highlighting to prove a point
Zero2Cool (19h) : Shough is the guy who missed guys at combine isn't he?
beast (20h) : It's not official until I'm dead! I have a chance still! (Not really)
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : I could feel my body decomposing in real time when I read that
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : @MIKEYSAINRISTIL Tyler Shough will officially be the last person drafted to the NFL born in the 1900’s
Mucky Tundra (26-Apr) : saw the tweet, he meant the city
Mucky Tundra (26-Apr) : Was that for the team or the city?
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter · 3m Draft grade is in: Green Bay gets an A. The people, the city, the venue were all superb. NFL Draft’s next
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Matt LaFleur says Jaire Alexander is participating in #Packers offseason program, which has been conducted virtually during this first week
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : ✅ ...
buckeyepackfan (26-Apr) : Check
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Matthew Golden cahanged 81 to 22??
TheKanataThrilla (26-Apr) : Sam Howell to Vikings...guess no Aaron
Martha Careful (26-Apr) : 1 round 7 min, with one extra minute if there is a trade. 2nd round 4 minutes, 3rd -3, 2 thereafter IMO
Martha Careful (26-Apr) : Agree
dfosterf (26-Apr) : Great idea imo
dfosterf (26-Apr) : 1st round to 7 minutes with one extension
dfosterf (26-Apr) : NFL comissioner wants to shorten the 2st
Mucky Tundra (26-Apr) : @jalenreagors They’re discussing if Sheduer can go back to college on NFL Network LMFAOOOOO
beast (26-Apr) : Great point Martha
beast (26-Apr) : Buddy Ryan used to say if a candy bar goes missing, there are two to blame, Rex and Rob 🤪 jk 😁
Martha Careful (26-Apr) : Bum Phillips used to say there are two ways to get better. Get better players or get players to play better. We have a new DL coach
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Yes. Look at the losses last year. They can win.
beast (26-Apr) : Can Packers win with their current DL?
bboystyle (26-Apr) : waiting for a pass rusher.
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 5 minutes between picks in the 3rd
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 3rd. Hate this phone
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 4rd
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 5 minutes in the 4
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 7 minutes between picks in the 2nd round
Martha Careful (25-Apr) : Sorry to bitch, but the headline writers in that section absolutely mislead, or don't know how to read. It is maddening
Martha Careful (25-Apr) : No thanks. Not a dependable guy to be in the right place and run the right route. Dumb as a box of rocks.
Zero2Cool (25-Apr) : Losing 2nd round pick for a one year rental, not ideal. Especially a headcase.
TheKanataThrilla (25-Apr) : Pickens for Jaire may be interesting. Definitely not sure we want Pickens long term.
dfosterf (25-Apr) : No.Absolutely not
Zero2Cool (25-Apr) : NO NO NO NO NO NO!!1 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
dhazer (25-Apr) : scenario: Our main prospects are off the board when our pick comes around, do we just throw a 2nd round pick at Pittsburgh for Pickens
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