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Nine years ago, a group of NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers sued the league over a topic that has spawned antitrust litigation since the 1950s: Do NFL teams limiting how they compete in licensing broadcasts run afoul of antitrust law?
That core legal question is headed for a jury trial set to begin next Wednesday in the Los Angeles courtroom of U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez. Last year Gutierrez certified In Re: NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” Antitrust Litigation as a class action on behalf of more than 2.4 million residential subscribers and more than 48,000 restaurants, bars and other commercial establishments that purchased Sunday Ticket from June 17, 2011 to February 7, 2023 (these dates reflect applicable statute of limitations).
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Sunday Ticket is available through YouTube TV for $349/year, though various discounts, promotions and add-ons can change the price. It was previously available through DirecTV.
On Wednesday, both sides presented to Gutierrez a proposed joint statement of the case, in which they summarized the dispute. If the trial is not preempted by a last-minute settlement, the courtroom could produce fascinating and revealing witness testimonies with several bold-named pro football figures. The defendants’ attorneys have previously indicated they could call Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to the stand. The defendants, meanwhile, plan to call NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to the stand for 45 minutes of live testimony.
Goodell, conceivably, would like to avoid a situation where he is cross-examined by opposing counsel, especially considering recent developments. Earlier this year, a different court unsealed transcripts of a 2022 deposition Goodell gave in a class-action lawsuit filed against the NFL by former football players alleging the league was culpable for the long-term brain damage they suffered by playing. In his testimony, Goodell made several comments that drew critique…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-sunday-ticket-antitrust-class-120000111.html
Author : Sportico
Publish date : 2024-05-31 12:00:00
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