Popular Media (ICLE)
Don’t Break Up the NFL’s Sunday Ticket Package
A federal jury in Los Angeles delivered an eye-popping $4.7 billion verdict last year against the National Football League, finding that the bundling and exclusive-distribution features of the league’s Sunday Ticket package harmed consumers. A federal judge later overturned the verdict, but the plaintiffs have challenged that decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal judge was right to be skeptical of the plaintiffs’ argument, and the Ninth Circuit should be, too. Despite plaintiffs’ claims to the contrary, bundling games is good for fans—and essential to maintaining the league’s competitive balance.