New York
CNN
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A class-action case challenging the legality of the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, which is scheduled to hold its opening arguments Thursday, could change television rights deals in professional sports and the way teams make money.

The case, which was first filed in 2015, focuses on the package of NFL games outside the local market that are not shown nationally on other networks. By restricting the broadcast of those “out-of-market” games to the Sunday Ticket package, the NFL is forcing customers who only want to watch one team or a small group of teams to pay more, the suit says.

“Given the relatively low cost of Internet, satellite and cable television broadcasts, each independently operated team will offer its games at a competitive price to anyone in the country who wishes to watch that particular team,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys argued in their filing. . “Instead, all teams abandoned this option in favor of creating a more profitable monopoly.”

The plaintiffs are seeking potential billions of dollars in damages, which could triple under antitrust law. The NFL argues that the current arrangement provides the widest possible range of games for fans at a good value.

Witnesses who could be called in the case include NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, team owners Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft, as well as executives from various television networks and DirecTV, which held the exclusive Sunday Ticket package until it lost it to them. YouTube TV owned by Google At the beginning of last season, at an announced cost 2 billion dollars annually. YouTube charges $449 per year for the package.

The case, which was being heard in federal court in Los Angeles, was dismissed by a district court in 2017 and then reinstated. U.S. Court of Appeals in 2019. It is argued by attorneys from Susman Godfrey, a major national firm that settled the case against Fox News via Dominion Voting Systems For more than $787 million before this case goes to trial.

The NFL has famously settled some high-profile cases against it rather than expose and dissect its practices in open court. These include a $790 million settlement finalized by A Sued by plaintiffs in St. Louis Who objected to He moved the Rams to Los Angeles In 2016, a $765 million settlement was reached in 2013 to establish a fund to compensate players who suffered. Brain injuries from concussions During playing days.