The NFL suffered a “huge setback Thursday” after an L.A. jury voted unanimously that the league “colluded with DirecTV, along with CBS and Fox, to drive up pricing” of its DirecTV "Sunday Ticket" package, according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. The NFL was ordered to pay about $4.7B in damages for violating antitrust law.
NBCSPORTS.com's Mike Florio reports on the amount: $96M will go to the "commercial establishments in the class" and the remaining $4B will become the recovery for residential customers ( NBCSPORTS.com, 6/27 ).
A spokesperson for the NFL said, “We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment. We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit. We thank the jury for their time and service and for the guidance and oversight from Judge Gutierrez throughout the trial.”
Lead attorney for the plaintiffs Bill Carmody said, "It’s a great verdict for consumers around America that this jury, despite the star power of the defendants, upheld the antitrust laws which are geared to protect consumers from overcharges. Justice was served."
Farmer notes the jury deliberated for “roughly five hours over two days.” The trial lasted three weeks and included testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones . The class action was filed on behalf of more than 2.4M residential subscribers and more than 48,000 restaurants, bars and other commercial establishments that show the games. Farmer notes the plaintiffs alleged the NFL “colluded with network partners” CBS and Fox, along with DirecTV, to “ensure the pricing of ‘Sunday Ticket’ remained high,” thereby violating antitrust law ( L.A. TIMES, 6/27 ).
WHAT COMES NEXT: SBJ's Ben Fischer breaks down what's next for the NFL following the ruling in this week's Football newsletter : "Up next is a hearing on July 31, where the NFL will likely argue the judgment is excessive and that Judge Philip Gutierrez should set aside the ruling as a matter of law. If that doesn’t happen, the NFL will appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and if unsuccessful there, to the U.S. Supreme Court."
