By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

The trial is finally underway for the nine-year-old class action lawsuit against the NFL for allegedly conspiring with the networks and DIRECTV to charge a high price (around $300 for the base plan) for the Sunday Ticket. The plaintiffs — former subscribers to the package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games — say the league dictated a higher price to ensure that fewer people would subscribe and therefore continue to watch games on Fox, CBS and other networks that paid to broadcast the games. The lawsuit is seeking damages, saying subscribers should have been able to pay a smaller fee for the package.

But why? Where does it say that fans are entitled to watch every NFL game without paying what the league and a TV provider (DIRECTV before, YouTube now) decide to charge? They already get several games every Sunday for free (via an antenna on local channels). Why should they expect to have access to every game on the cheap?

Come on, the NFL is not a public trust. It’s a business and it should have the right to set whatever price it wants for its premium product, particularly when it offers so many contests for free. It’s not like the NFL is keeping games away from fans. There’s plenty of football to watch for free.

In my humble opinion, the plaintiffs are like spoiled children who demand to have everything their way without thinking of what’s required to put the Sunday Ticket together. They don’t care if a lower Sunday Ticket price might jeopardize the league’s TV deals with Fox and CBS – and possibly kill the Golden Goose: free games on local channels. They just want what they want – and they want it now. (Undoubtedly, a few fee-hungry attorneys are driving this as well.)

That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the plaintiffs wins. It’s a jury trial and Lord knows that juries sometimes like to stick to the man, particularly on something like ‘high prices.’ But hopefully the jury will not succumb to the sentiment that companies should be in business solely to cater to the whims of its customers. A good business needs to balance the customer’s needs with the requirements to operate a profitable enterprise.

That’s what the NFL is doing with the Sunday Ticket and, for 30 plus years, it seems to be working just fine, thank you.

Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.