Jan 22, 2024
NFL Sunday Ticket has moved on to its new home of YouTube, and, by nearly all respects, is flourishing in that new spot. But the dust still hasn’t settled for NFL Sunday Ticket at the product’s prior exclusive home, DirecTV, and a lawsuit surrounding the out-of-market game package is now set to involve some of the biggest names in pro football.
A class-action lawsuit dating to 2015—alleging that the collective and exclusive packaging of teams’ out-of-market rights in NFL Sunday Ticket violates U.S. antitrust law and creates artificially high prices—has slowly made its way through California and federal courts, reaching its current status early last year. A trial is now set to begin Feb. 22, and witness lists filed Friday include NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and outgoing CBS Sports chair Sean McManus.
Barring a settlement or other adjustment in the proceedings, those prominent names and many others will testify on the current state of the NFL’s broadcasting business and the league’s out-of-market strategy.
Source: Front Office Sports