Received via Email - MLB TV Class Action Settlement

[Blake]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
NOTICE TO PERSONS WHO PURCHASED MLB EXTRA INNINGS FROM COMCAST OR DIRECTV OR PURCHASED MLB.TV

You Have an Opportunity to Subscribe to Discounted Individual Team Packages through MLB.TV and Other New Online Products

A federal court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

A proposed settlement (the "Settlement") has been reached in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of consumers who purchased MLB.TV or purchased MLB Extra Innings from Comcast or DIRECTV between May 9, 2008, and January 18, 2016. The proposed settlement is between the individuals who brought that lawsuit and the defendants. The defendants are the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball ("MLB"), Major League Baseball Properties Inc., as successor by merger to Major League Baseball Enterprises Inc., MLB Advanced Media L.P., MLB Advanced Media, Inc., Athletics Investment Group, LLC, the Baseball Club of Seattle, L.L.L.P., Chicago Cubs Baseball Club, LLC, Chicago White Sox, Ltd., Colorado Rockies Baseball Club, Ltd., The Phillies, Pittsburgh Baseball, Inc., San Francisco Baseball Associates, LLC, New York Yankees Partnership, Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, LLC, Comcast Corporation, Comcast SportsNet California, LLC, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, LLC, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, L.P., DIRECTV, LLC, DIRECTV Sports Networks, LLC, DIRECTV Sports Net Pittsburgh, LLC (d/b/a Root Sports Pittsburgh), DIRECTV Sports Net Rocky Mountain, LLC (d/b/a Root Sports Rocky Mountain), and DIRECTV Sports Net Northwest, LLC (d/b/a Root Sports Northwest). The lawsuit alleges that MLB's rules establishing local broadcast territories violated federal antitrust laws. The defendants deny any wrongdoing or liability. If you purchased MLB Extra Innings from Comcast or DIRECTV or purchased MLB.TV between May 9, 2008 and January 18, 2016, your legal rights are affected whether you act or do not act. Please read this notice carefully.

 

The lawsuit alleges that the territorial allocation of broadcast rights within MLB assigned to each of its member clubs and thereafter sold to regional sports networks violated federal antitrust laws, provides out-of-market consumers with fewer choices, and inflates prices charged to view broadcasts of live professional baseball games. Defendants dispute Plaintiffs' factual and legal claims and deny any wrongdoing and liability, as well as any adverse effect on consumer choices and that prices charged have been inflated. The parties have concluded that it is in their best interests to settle the litigation to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty of litigation.

 

In May 2015, the Court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs' motion for class certification. The Court held that the individuals who filed this suit could represent a class for the purposes of seeking injunctive relief, but not damages.

 

Under the Settlement and subject to MLB's continued delineation of its clubs' local broadcast territorial rights and associated blackout practices, MLB has agreed to reduce prices through the 2020 season and provide several new products. Comcast and DIRECTV have also agreed to reduce prices for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

 

Price Relief

MLB will lower the price of MLB.TV to $109.99 for 2016 (from the 2015 price of $129.99). MLB will be prohibited from increasing the price by more than 3% (or the federal Cost of Living Adjustment ("COLA"), if higher) per year through 2020.

 

For the 2016 and 2017 MLB seasons, Comcast and DIRECTV will provide the full season MLB Extra Innings product at a 12.5% discount from the 2015 price.

 

Increased Availability

 

Single-Team Packages: MLB will offer packages of single teams' out-of-market games through MLB.TV (for example, a stream of just the Kansas City Royals' games for out-of-market subscribers). This product will cost $84.99 for a full season in 2016, with MLB allowed to raise the price by no more than 3% (or COLA, if higher) for each of the next four years. MLB has also agreed to make this option available to Comcast and DIRECTV so that they may offer seasonal packages of single team games for each and every MLB Club available through MLB Extra Innings, although Comcast and DIRECTV are not obligated to offer such packages.

 

Follow Your Team: MLB will allow all MLB.TV purchasers who subscribe to Comcast, DIRECTV, or certain other cable, satellite or other providers to purchase a "Follow Your Team" option that will allow them to receive telecasts of their favorite out-of-market team's broadcaster without any blackouts-even when it is playing an in-market team, so long as the purchaser receives the in-market team's programming through his or her television service. This product will cost no more than $10 more than a standard MLB.TV package, which will raise the overall price of the MLB.TV package to $119.99 for a full season in 2016 for consumers selecting this enhancement.

 

In-Market Streaming: MLB will seek to reach agreements with Comcast, Root Sports, and Fox regional sports networks to offer live in-market streaming of their telecasts. If in-market streaming is not available for all of the teams whose games are broadcast by those networks by 2017, MLB will be prohibited from increasing prices for any of the above MLB.TV products through 2020.

 

Unserved Fans: MLB will offer live streaming of any in-market team's telecasts produced by Comcast, Root Sports, or Fox regional sports networks to any customer who is unable to obtain multi-channel video provider distributor service or virtual multi-channel video provider distributor service at his or her residence.

The Court in charge of this case still needs to decide whether or not to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, and after any appeals are resolved, the benefits will be provided automatically to class members.

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More information here: www.MLBBroadcastingSettlement.com

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Received in an email.

 

It appears that more games will be made available to subscribers and the cost will go down. 

[Blake]

It will be interesting to see if people who have been unable to see games due to blackout restrictions are are now able to watch games.

[nytwinsfan]

Me too.

[cmoss84]

Thanks for posting this. I'm anxious to see if DIRECTV offers the single team package-it says they aren't obligated to, but it would sure be nice!

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

It will be interesting to see if people who have been unable to see games due to blackout restrictions are are now able to watch games.

Not in a meaningful way yet, no.

 

"Unserved Fans" sounds like an option for folks in Iowa and other far reaches of blackout territory who may not have the option of getting Fox Sports North on cable, but I understand that most of those fans do have the option of DirecTV so I'm not sure if MLB will consider them "unserved" or not.  I guess we'll see.

 

The "Follow Your Team" option will remove blackouts for a designated out-of-market team (so, a Royals fan could stream Royals @ Twins in Minnesota), but only if you authenticate with a cable/satellite subscription that includes FSN, in which case you already have the game on your TV.

 

Likewise, separate from MLB.TV, if you have a cable/satellite subscription that includes FSN, you should be able to stream Twins games through the Fox Sports Go site/app -- that's new this year.  Something similar should be in place for non-Fox RSNs by 2017 too.

 

So basically, if you can get it on your TV, you can stream it too.  No new streaming-only options yet, though (unless you can borrow a cable/satellite subscriber's login information).

[Otto von Ballpark]

Also, if anyone is looking for a deal on MLB.TV and can afford to wait, the past few years they have usually had a targeted 50% off deal by early May.  Anyone who logged in with your MLB.com account and stream their free game of the day in April got emailed the targeted offer.  I usually only listen on radio anyway, so it was no trouble to wait a month.

 

Although perhaps with the modest price cuts outlined in this settlement, they may not have the same sales during the season anymore.