MLB Settles Antitrust Broadcast Class Action on Eve of Trial

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Major League Baseball (MLB) and a plaintiff class have settled an antitrust class action over geographic broadcast networks, only minutes before they were set to start a nine-day trial in New York.

The broadcast monopoly antitrust class action alleged that MLB entered into anticompetitive agreements to provide exclusive games of certain teams to various regional sports networks.

The plaintiffs argued that the regional agreements limited fans’ ability to watch games. In addition, the antitrust complaint claimed that the complete MLB streaming service offered online was priced too high, in order to limit its competitive effect on cable and satellite subscriptions.

The plaintiff class for both MLB and the NHL antitrust lawsuit was certified by the court in May of 2015. Then the NHL settled their portion of the case in June, by agreeing to offer unbundled, team-specific packages at a reduced price, separate from the full-NHL package.

The full details of the MLB broadcast monopoly class action settlement were not immediately available, but some of the terms have trickled out through various news agencies throughout the day. CBS Sports reported that the settlement will lower the price of the full MLB package from $129.99 to $109.99 for the next season.  And like the previous NHL settlement, single-team packages will now be offered for $84.99.

In addition, other news sources reported that fans who subscribe to a regional sports network through DirecTV, Comcast, or Fox will not have a “blackout” of regional games on digital subscriptions. This will apparently be a new feature called “Follow Your Team,” and for a cost of $10 cable or satellite subscribers will be able to watch games of a specific team outside of that person’s geographic area, even if that team is playing against a team that is in the market of the regional sports network.

Historically, sports teams will “blackout” broadcasts of the game in the local market, in order to force fans to purchase tickets and watch the game in person. While this settlement may carve out limited exceptions, it appears that the basic “blackout” rule will stay in place for MLB.

More information about the MLB broadcast monopoly class action settlement was not immediately available, and will be updated once the parties ask the court for preliminary approval of the settlement.  Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Howard I. Langer, Edward A. Diver, and Peter E. Leckman of Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Jeffrey B. Dubner of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Robert J. LaRocca of Kohn Swift & Graf PC, Marc I. Gross and Adam G. Kurtz of Pomerantz LLP, and Joshua D. Snyder of Boni & Zack LLC.

The MLB Broadcast Monopoly Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is Garber, et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, et al., Case No. 1:12-CV-03704, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On Feb. 16, 2016, the Major League Baseball (MLB) broadcast monopoly class action lawsuit settlement is now open, check out all the details here or at www.MLBBroadcastingSettlement.com!

UPDATE 2: On May 1, 2017, the plaintiffs in this class action filed a motion to enforce the Major League Baseball broadcast monopoly settlement. Baseball fans say that MLB raised its prices, but has not increased the value of the service. The plaintiffs acknowledged that agreements to provide service later are in place, but argued that was not enough under the terms of the settlement agreement.