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Judge tosses verdict in NFL Sunday Ticket antitrust case

(Image: National Football League/Graphic: The Desk)

A federal judge who allowed a class-action lawsuit against the National Football League to proceed to a jury trial has now decided that the jury erred in awarding former DirecTV subscribers more than $4.7 billion as part of the antitrust case.

On Thursday, Judge Philip Gutierrez of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California said the jury’s award of damages was “clearly not supported by the evidence and must be vacated,” adding that the verdict was based on a formula concocted by the jury that was largely rooted in “guesswork and speculation.”

The case stemmed from how the NFL inked its exclusive distribution agreement with DirecTV to distribute Sunday Ticket, which offers games played on CBS and Fox affiliates beyond a subscriber’s local TV market.

The plaintiffs in the case argued that the arrangement amounted to illegal collusion, because it did not allow regional cable providers and other pay TV platforms to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket as well, which could have potentially lowered the price for the package by increasing competition. The NFL disagreed with that assessment, saying DirecTV was one of the few viable options to bring its Sunday Ticket package to national audiences until very recently, when the package moved to YouTube.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is the award-winning founder and editor of TheDesk.net, an authoritative voice on broadcast and streaming TV, media and tech. With over ten years of experience, he's a recognized expert in broadcast, streaming, and digital media, with work featured in publications such as StreamTV Insider and Digital Content Next, and past roles at Thomson Reuters and Disney-ABC Television Group.