Proposed Settlement Reached in MLB/Comcast/DirecTV Class-Action Suit
A proposed settlement in a class-action suit against Comcast, DirecTV, Major League Baseball and a variety of regional sports networks (RSN) goes further than a settlement in a similar National Hockey League case, plaintiffs in the case said in a…
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memorandum in support of the motion to settle filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Like the 2015 settlement in a similar complaint brought against the NHL, MLB will offer an unbundled MLB.TV Internet package for the next five years, allowing purchase of single-team packages, but, in contrast, the MLB.TV pricing is guaranteed for five years "with very limited rights to increase over that time," the plaintiffs said in the filing. The proposed MLB settlement also includes pricing discounts for online packages and creates a "Follow Your Team" variation of MLB.TV that would let viewers watch an out-of-market club's telecast of a game even when that team is playing an in-market one, the plaintiffs said. And it includes an incentive for MLB to provide free live local team broadcasts online by not allowing any online package price increases if in-market streaming isn't in place for the 24 RSNs carrying MLB games owned by Comcast, DirecTV and 21st Century Fox by the start of the 2017 season, it said. A group of MLB fans from around the country who had bought out-of-market packages at what they claimed were inflated prices sued MLB, the multichannel video programming distributors and individual MLB teams in 2012, claiming the agreement MLB had with the MVPDs for distribution of games online and on TV was an "illegal cartel," stifling competition. DirecTV and Comcast didn't comment Thursday. In a statement, NBC Sports Regional Networks said it's "pleased with the settlement and look[s] forward to partnering with Major League Baseball to enable our regional sports networks’ offering of live in-market streaming of games to subscribers.” The NFL and DirecTV also face related litigation from a variety of sports bars around the country regarding the satellite company's NFL Sunday Ticket subscription package (see 1512300027).