DirecTV, NFL Hit with Antitrust Class Action over Sunday Ticket

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This week, a class action lawsuit was filed against the National Football League and DirecTV LLC by a California bar owner who alleges the “Sunday Ticket” is an illegal monopoly designed to extort money out of customers.

The owner of the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco alleges in his class action lawsuit that DirecTV and the NFL entered into an exclusive $1.5 billion annual deal that unfairly restricts competition and results in higher prices for access to football games necessary for sports bars and other establishments to attract business.

According to the class action lawsuit, DirecTV’s pricing plans for NFL Sunday Ticket gouge bars, restaurants and other hospitality businesses. The cost to a bar or restaurant with a fire code capacity of 51-100 was about $2,300 in 2015 and over $120,000 for large establishments such as Las Vegas hotels, alleges the plaintiff in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit.

“Because DirecTV and the NFL know that plaintiff and the class must exhibit these games to effectively run their businesses, DirecTV and the NFL have agreed to set prices for NFL Sunday Ticket that are far higher than a competitive market would allow,” alleges the plaintiff in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. “It has been estimated that prices are as much as 43 percent higher because of DirecTV’s exclusive deal with the NFL, yielding excess profits for DirecTV and the NFL in the tens of millions of dollars,” the plaintiff continues.

The class action lawsuit also alleges that the price of access to out-of-area games through the NFL Sunday Ticket has steadily increased. “What we have seen in the course of the last four years is the price of Sunday Ticket to commercial subscribers has increased substantially,” said a representative for the plaintiff. “They are in a unique position where the marketing for the bar or the restaurant is that they can get you access to all games, and it seems that the NFL and DirecTV have recognized that and are taking advantage.”

The plaintiff points out that three other major U.S. sports leagues offer competing packages resulting in a lower price for consumers. Additionally, the plaintiff alleges that the NFL offers several Sunday Ticket equivalents in Canada also lowering the rate for those lucky citizens.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of establishments across the country. According to the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit, the plaintiff accuses DirecTV of wrongfully earning tens of millions of dollars per year under the deal. The plaintiff is also seeking an injunction against the deal and damages.

Lead plaintiff, bar ownership entity Ninth Inning, is represented by Michael D. Hausfeld, Christopher L. Lebsock, Michael P. Lehmann, Bonny E. Sweeney, Irving Scher and Scott A. Martin of Hausfeld LLP, and Lionel Z. Glancy, Lee Albert and Brian Murray of Glancy Prongray & Murray LLP.

The NFL Sunday Ticket Class Action Lawsuit is Ninth Inning Inc. v. National Football League Inc., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-05261, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.