| Amanda G. Lewis
AAI joined an amicus brief filed in the Second Circuit by the Sports Fans Coalition and other consumer advocacy and public interest organizations in support of plaintiffs in FuboTv v. Disney. The defendants in the case are appealing a preliminary injunction against a proposed joint venture that would account for as much as 80% of the market for U.S. live sports broadcasting rights. Plaintiffs, who compete in the distribution of streaming sports bundles, allege the JV would drive them out of business and make new entry impossible, allowing the defendants to monopolize the market for pared-down “skinny” sports streaming bundles.
The amicus brief argues that the district court was correct to grant a preliminary injunction against the JV because of the risk it would substantially lessen competition and cause irreparable harm to consumers. The brief explains that the JV reduces consumer choice by discouraging the defendants from independently developing their own skinny bundles and by discouraging new entry. It argues that the defendants’ already anticompetitive bundling practices show the JV’s ability and willingness to foreclose rivals. The brief supports the district court’s conclusion that the JV would, given the already concentrated market, also increase the risk that defendants would engage in anticompetitive collusion.
The amicus brief describes the likely harm to consumers, including higher prices and decreased quality, reduced choice and access, and loss of innovation. It also explains that plaintiffs’ competitor status does not, as some amici for defendants argue, affect the public interest in the relief it seeks. Rather, the amicus brief points out that competitors are often uniquely situated to identify incipient anticompetitive conduct in the relevant market and emphasizes that the injunction here serves both consumers and competitors.
The brief was written by AAI Advisory Board member Amanda Lewis, who is a partner at Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP.
Read the full brief here: Sports Fan Coalition and Consumer Amicus Brief in FuboTv v. Disney
