Before football fans have a chance to get NFL Sunday Tickey on YouTube TV in 2023, the National Football League will face a $6 billion class action lawsuit over what happened with DirecTV.
According to Reuters, the NFL must face a multi-billion dollar lawsuit alleging that it unlawfully reduced the number of televised games and increased the cost of a “Sunday Ticket’ package for fans.
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U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez in Los Angeles approved the case as a class action suit against all 32 NFL teams and the league itself. Importantly, per the ruling, the suit will be divided into separate cases with one representing individual Sunday Ticket subscribers and a second representing commercial establishments that used the NFL broadcasting package.
In its final season under DirecTV, with the new streaming rights sold to Google for YoUTube TV beginning next fall, Sunday Ticket reportedly had at least 2.4 million individual customers and another 48,000 members qualifying for commercial class.
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“We are reviewing the judge’s order.“We continue to believe that the plaintiffs’ claims have no merit and will vigorously defend our position in this matter.”
NFL spokesperson to Reuters on the $6 billion class action lawsuit
The suit is open to individuals and commercial entities that purchased Sunday Ticket from DirecTV since 2011, with the plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking a maximum of $6 billion in damages on behalf of its clients.
While the NFL does have a history of settling civil suits, the current matter likely won’t present any immediate issues. A trial isn’t set to begin until February 2024, with the league’s lawyers focused on civil suits filed by Jon Gruden and the active lawsuit from Brian Flores
During Super Bowl week, the NFL publicly hinted at its early plans for Sunday Ticket with the move to YouTube TV. While the cost of adding the package will likely be similar to what fans previously paid under DirecTV, there will be a wider variety of services and features available.
As for the new civil suit, it shouldn’t have any influence on the league’s planned rollout of Sunday Ticket with new partner later this year. Based on the early reactions to the league leaving DirecTV behind, Sunday Ticket could gain far more subscribers in 2023 than it had last season.
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