NFL, DirecTV Get Antitrust Case Paused Pending SCOTUS Petition

The National Football League, its teams, and DirecTV got the Ninth Circuit to pause an antitrust challenge to their broadcast licensing deals while they ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

The proposed class action takes aim at NFL Sunday Ticket, the DirecTV package that allows paid subscribers to watch every out-of-market game, rather than just the two or three broadcast free each Sunday.

Two licensing deals make Sunday Ticket possible: an agreement among the teams to pool their broadcast rights, and the NFL’s sale of those rights to DirecTV, an AT&T subsidiary. Teams would otherwise market their ...