The American football league, NFL, was condemned on Thursday for having agreed with several broadcasters to set high prices for subscriptions to one of its flagship programs.
Found guilty of abuse of a dominant position by a jury following a federal trial, the NFL will have to pay some $4.7 billion in damages, according to several American media.
In 2015, the owners of the Mucky Duck, a pub in San Francisco, sued the NFL over its management of the “Sunday Ticket” program, which allows, for a subscription, to see all matches not involving the local team(s).
They criticized the American football league for having taken advantage of its monopoly to establish unjustified prices, with the agreement of the CBS and Fox channels, which broadcast the matches over the air, and the DirecTV satellite package, holder of the rights to “Sunday”. Ticket”.
The procedure had been reclassified as a collective action, on behalf of 2.4 million subscribers and 48,000 commercial establishments.
The verdict Thursday could threaten the NFL’s seven-year, $14 billion contract with the current broadcaster of the “Sunday Ticket,” YouTube, which took over from DirecTV last year.
The league has announced its intention to challenge the decision in court.
The parties can submit appeals, which will be considered by Federal Judge Philip Gutierrez at the end of July. The magistrate will then have to decide whether the verdict should be confirmed, annulled or modified.
If upheld, federal law provides for a triple damages award, which would bring the amount owed to the NFL to $14 billion.