Dodgers News: Justice Department is Suing AT&T due to DirecTV’s Collusion

Fans have been complaining for seasons now that they are unable to watch the Dodgers on television thanks to DirecTV. Well, it seems like DirecTV is about to pay for it.

On Wednesday, ABC7 Eyewitness News announced that the U.S. Justice Department is filing a lawsuit against AT&T for unlawfully sharing information with competitors. It was this action that reportedly led to so many of us fans not being able to watch the Dodgers.

Here is what Jonathan Sallet, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, had to say about the lawsuit:

As the complaint explains, Dodgers fans were denied a fair competitive process when DIRECTV orchestrated a series of information exchanges with direct competitors that ultimately made consumers less likely to be able to watch their hometown team.

Competition, not collusion, best serves consumers and that is especially true when, as with pay-television providers, consumers have only a handful of choices in the marketplace.

Here is what David McAtee, AT&T’s general counsel, had to say in response to the lawsuit:

We respect the DOJ’s important role in protecting consumers, but in this case, which occurred before AT&T’s acquisition of DIRECTV, we see the facts differently. The reason why no other major TV provider chose to carry this content was that no one wanted to force all of their customers to pay the inflated prices that Time Warner Cable was demanding for a channel devoted solely to LA Dodgers baseball. We make our carriage decisions independently, legally and only after thorough negotiations with the content owner. We look forward to presenting these facts in court.

Finally, here is an official statement from the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Statement by the Dodgers on today's U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against AT&T-DirecTV. pic.twitter.com/USBHwRzqWp

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 2, 2016

We will keep the fans updated moving forward, but hopefully this means that the proper steps are being taken to allow fans everywhere to watch Dodger baseball!