Class Action Lawsuit Alleges NBC Illegally Profits from Golf Channel Viewer Data

A class action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court accuses NBCUniversal’s Golf Channel of selling viewers’ personal information and viewing history without their permission.

Plaintiff Justin Breault claims NBCUniversal sells or rents subscriber information to third-parties in order to supplement its revenue.

The information allegedly being rented or sold includes customers’ names and addresses, as well as “detailed transactional information” about the titles and subject matter of the media purchased by subscribers. 

Once the data is disclosed, the third-party recipients of the information can add other personal and demographic data for those customers, then re-sell the personal viewing information to other third-parties, the class action lawsuit says.

With his class action lawsuit, Breault is asking the Court to put a stop to NBCUniversal’s practice of disclosing its subscribers’ personal viewing information, which he maintains is a violation of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

The VPPA states that any “video tape service provider” who intentionally discloses consumers’ personal information “to any person” is to be held liable for liquidated damages of $2,500 per violation and “equitable relief,” according to the NBC class action lawsuit.

Breault’s complaint contends NBCUniversal’s conduct is an invasion of privacy and “resulted in a barrage of unwanted junk mail to their home addresses and e-mail inboxes.”

The class action lawsuit also argues NBCUniversal’s disclosures of customer data are dangerous because they allow vulnerable people to be targeted.

“For example, as a result of Defendant’s disclosures of Personal Viewing Information, any person or entity could buy a list with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all women over the age of 50 who reside in New York, earn an income of over $80,000, own their home free and clear, and have purchased the Golf Channel from Defendant,” the class action lawsuit states. “Such a list is available for sale for approximately $120.00 per thousand customers listed.”

The NBCUniversal class action lawsuit includes a screenshot from NextMark Inc.’s website that shows consumer records available for sale.

“The Personal Viewing Information of 13,089,254 American consumers who purchased Defendant’s video products is offered for sale on the website of NextMark, Inc. (‘NextMark’) – one of many traffickers of this type of Personal Viewing Information – at a base price of ‘$85.00/M [per thousand records]’ (8.5 cents each),” the NBCUniversal class action lawsuit says.

Breault says he purchased a Golf Channel “subscription-based video good or service” within the past two years, and he was never notified, in writing or otherwise, that his personal or viewing information would be disclosed to third-parties.

However, Breault claims, NBCUniversal disclosed his personal information, “including, inter alia, Plaintiff’s name, postal address, telephone number, gender, age, income, whether he has children, and his homeowner status, as well as the title of the video service/product Plaintiff purchased” to marketing companies, data appenders and aggregators or other third-parties.

He says that as a result of this disclosure, he now receives junk mail from companies and organizations, and calls the mailings “unwarranted and harassing.”

The NBC class action lawsuit argues NBCUniversal’s sale of Breault’s viewing information deprived him of the full benefits he was entitled to as a subscriber, thereby causing the plaintiff economic harm.

He says what he received — “videos without statutory privacy protections” — was less valuable than what he paid for, which would have been videos with the statutory privacy protections.

Had Breault known his information would be sold, he would not have been willing to pay as much, or at all, for the videos he purchased. 

Breault says he did not discover NBCUniversal was allegedly selling consumers’ viewing information until August 2020.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and seeks an order declaring NBCUniversal’s conduct violates the federal VPPA; an order for the defendant to pay $2,500 to the plaintiff and each Class Member; punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial; prejudgment interest on all amounts; restitution and other monetary relief; injunctive relief; and reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs.

Do you have an NBCUniversal Golf Channel subscription? Are you worried about the security of your personal information? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by James J. Reardon Jr. of Reardon Scanon LLP; Frank S. Hedin and David W. Hall of Hedin Hall LLP; and Joseph I. Marchese and Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The NBCUniversal Golf Channel Subscription Class Action Lawsuit is Justin Breault, et al. v. NBCUniversal Media LLC, Case No. 1:20-cv-11594, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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