Sony Class Action Filed Over Shoddy Mayweather Fight Live Stream

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC and Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC are facing a class action lawsuit filed by a disgruntled consumer who purchased the live stream to view the Aug. 16, 2017 Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight through a PlayStation 4, but who was allegedly unable to view the entire fight due to technical failures.

Plaintiff Ross Thompson says he paid $99.95 to stream the Mayweather fight live from Sony’s PlayStation Store on a PS4. According to the Sony class action lawsuit, he was unable to view a significant portion of the fight due to technical issues and/or other failures.

Thompson asserts he “experienced periodic blackouts, grainy video, buffering events, delays and stalls and was unable to watch the Mayweather fight completely or clearly.”

According to the Mayweather fight live streaming class action lawsuit, Sony “delivered shoddy or non-existent streams for a nearly $100 price tag.”

Before the fight, Sony extensively advertised that it could be streamed live when consumers purchased a live stream through Sony to be streamed through a PS4 system, Thompson says. However, when he turned on his PS4 to stream the Mayweather fight, he quickly realized Sony’s service was defective and that the company failed to offer the live stream of the event that it had promised.

Even though the quality of the live stream of the Mayweather fight was non-existent or shoddy, Thompson says he was able to watch other streaming services on his PS4.

Thompson claims his live streaming experience was not unique. The Sony class action lawsuit points to numerous complaints posted online by other consumers who were having issues viewing the live stream of the Mayweather fight on their PS4 systems.

One customer posted on Facebook: “Absolute garbage. Stream failed repeatedly. Called to request a refund and was denied without any reasonable justification. Their customer service is absolutely terrible. Service failed, but they [hid] behind TOS.”

The Sony class action lawsuit seeks to determine whether Sony misrepresented facts about the quality of its live stream and whether the company knew the representations were false at the time they were made.

Thompson filed the Sony class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of consumers in the United States who purchased the Mayweather fight from Sony to view through a PlayStation 4 system.

The PS4 Mayweather fight live stream class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, intentional misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation.

Thompson seeks actual damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

Sony is not the only company taking heat for allegedly shoddy streaming of the Mayweather fight. Earlier this week, Showtime was hit with a similar complaint claiming the $100 pay-per-view live stream was of poor quality.

Thompson is represented by Mark J. Geragos and Noah J. Geldberg of Geragos & Geragos.

The Sony PS4 Mayweather Fight Live Streaming Class Action Lawsuit is Ross Thompson v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-05051, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.