AT&T is negotiating a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve allegations that DirecTV executives colluded with other pay-TV providers blocking Los Angeles Dodgers’ television channel, SportsNet LA, from being added to cable systems in Southern California.
The Justice Department sued AT&T and its DirecTV subsidiary in November of last year claiming DirecTV’colluded with its rivals in an effort to make sure that other pay-TV companies would not carry the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA channel.
In its lawsuit stops short of demanding that AT&T distribute SportsNet LA. The Feds only want AT&T and DirecTV agree to no longer share non-public information with competitors. The government also wants AT&T monitor conversations of its employees who negotiate pay-TV deals to end violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
The proposed settlement would not require AT&T or its DirecTV subsidiary to start carrying SportsNet LA, per a LA Times report. So Many Dodger fans could be without games on their TVs this season again. DirecTV is the second-largest pay-TV provider in the Los Angeles.
Charter Communications is the only pay-TV company that carries SportsNet LA in So-Cal.
