The NFL’s Sunday Ticket feature has been the subject of antitrust issues for the past 30 years. In nine days, the league will defend the product in court. The crux of the argument is that the NFL’s broadcast antitrust exemption does not allow them to bundle all rights to out-of-market games and sell them as a single unit, potentially resulting in over $6 billion in damages.
One of the major challenges for the league is that multiple influential figures in the NFL will have to testify during the trial. Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal speculates that a settlement is unlikely given the significant gap between the two sides. However, there is still a chance for an agreement to be reached before the trial begins. Many cases are resolved outside of court, sometimes just moments before they go to trial.
The NFL may be relying on a favorable ruling from the federal court system, potentially reaching all the way to the Supreme Court. The issue at hand is whether the broadcast antitrust exemption applies to other formats, such as satellite and streaming. This ongoing legal battle raises questions about how Sunday Ticket is distributed and sold currently, with customers having no choice but to purchase the entire package for the full season even if they only want to watch games of one team or one week at a time.
It remains unclear why
