Laumann v. National Hockey League

NHL and MLB teams (defendants) each held initial telecast rights and licensed most games to regional sports networks (RSNs) (defendants), which sold telecasts to consumers (plaintiffs) through distributors like Comcast and DirecTV (defendants); under this system, a standard package let consumers watch only their local in-market team, with out-of-market games blacked out unless purchased through an all-or-nothing national out-of-market package that still excluded in-market games. Consumers sued alleging these arrangements violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by dividing the national market and eliminating inter-team competition, and the defendants jointly moved to dismiss.