Dear SoSH:
I am a longtime reader of SoSH and an attorney in Boston. Recently, I have become involved in two lawsuits that relate to some prior posts on this board – specifically, the threads entitled “Do you want to help end the Fox Saturday blackouts?” started in March 2012 and the thread entitled “FCC reviewing TV blackout rules,” started in January 2012.
The lawsuits were filed in the last couple of months in federal district court in Manhattan. The complaints allege antitrust violations against the NHL and MLB, respectively, along with a host of other entities identified as co-conspirators. In a nutshell, the claim is that the antitrust laws are violated when the league, the teams, the regional sports networks and other broadcasters collude to set anticompetitive blackout and restriction rules that allow for higher prices to be charged for the protected products. The specific rules at issue in the MLB case are both those that prevent a subscriber of MLB.tv or ExtraInnings from viewing their geographically protected “local” team and certain other games through that subscription, as well as the restraints that prevent out-of market fans from viewing their favorite teams’ games at all (with the exception of the occasional network broadcast), except via the purchase of a subscription that includes all teams’ games. An example of the first rule would be a fan living in Iowa having Twins, Cardinals, White Sox, Cubs, Brewers and Royals games blacked out of their MLB.tv and EI packages, regardless of whether they otherwise have television access. An example of the second rule would be a Red Sox fan living in California who is forced to purchase the EI / MLB.tv package including all teams’ games, when he is really only interested in paying for Red Sox games.
A copy of the complaint can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/6ss7zcr
I am posting this information after getting permission from the mods to do so. Because of the rules regarding attorney advertising – and this post could fairly be construed as attorney advertising -- I do not plan to follow up in this thread directly.
Instead, if you want to learn more about the lawsuits, or if you are an MLB.tv, Extra Innings or NHL “Center Ice” subscriber who is affected by these rules and are interested in getting involved in the cases, please contact me directly with the information provided below.
Thanks for your interest,
Kevin Costello
Klein Kavanagh Costello, LLP
85 Merrimac Street, 4[sup]th[/sup] Floor
Boston, MA 02114
http://www.kkcllp.com
617-357-5500
costello[at]kkcllp.com
I am a longtime reader of SoSH and an attorney in Boston. Recently, I have become involved in two lawsuits that relate to some prior posts on this board – specifically, the threads entitled “Do you want to help end the Fox Saturday blackouts?” started in March 2012 and the thread entitled “FCC reviewing TV blackout rules,” started in January 2012.
The lawsuits were filed in the last couple of months in federal district court in Manhattan. The complaints allege antitrust violations against the NHL and MLB, respectively, along with a host of other entities identified as co-conspirators. In a nutshell, the claim is that the antitrust laws are violated when the league, the teams, the regional sports networks and other broadcasters collude to set anticompetitive blackout and restriction rules that allow for higher prices to be charged for the protected products. The specific rules at issue in the MLB case are both those that prevent a subscriber of MLB.tv or ExtraInnings from viewing their geographically protected “local” team and certain other games through that subscription, as well as the restraints that prevent out-of market fans from viewing their favorite teams’ games at all (with the exception of the occasional network broadcast), except via the purchase of a subscription that includes all teams’ games. An example of the first rule would be a fan living in Iowa having Twins, Cardinals, White Sox, Cubs, Brewers and Royals games blacked out of their MLB.tv and EI packages, regardless of whether they otherwise have television access. An example of the second rule would be a Red Sox fan living in California who is forced to purchase the EI / MLB.tv package including all teams’ games, when he is really only interested in paying for Red Sox games.
A copy of the complaint can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/6ss7zcr
I am posting this information after getting permission from the mods to do so. Because of the rules regarding attorney advertising – and this post could fairly be construed as attorney advertising -- I do not plan to follow up in this thread directly.
Instead, if you want to learn more about the lawsuits, or if you are an MLB.tv, Extra Innings or NHL “Center Ice” subscriber who is affected by these rules and are interested in getting involved in the cases, please contact me directly with the information provided below.
Thanks for your interest,
Kevin Costello
Klein Kavanagh Costello, LLP
85 Merrimac Street, 4[sup]th[/sup] Floor
Boston, MA 02114
http://www.kkcllp.com
617-357-5500
costello[at]kkcllp.com
