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Experts Say Possible Dodgers Suit Against AT&T Over Carriage Likely Not Happening

The U.S. Department of Justice's case against AT&T over DirecTV’s refusal to carry the Dodgers’ RSN would "seem to provide considerable ammunition to Dodgers owner Guggenheim Baseball Management for a possible lawsuit against AT&T," according to Masunaga & Miller of the L.A. TIMES. However, antitrust law experts said that the club "probably couldn’t make a legal argument that its finances were directly affected by fans’ unhappiness over not being able to watch games." Penn State law professor Stephen Ross said the Dodgers were not "economically damaged directly" by the antitrust violation "because they sold the rights" to Time Warner Cable. He added that the Dodgers have been "getting paid as a result of the broadcasting contract." The Dodgers "may have suffered indirect damage, because many fans took out their ire on the team’s owners." That "might have contributed to fewer sales of merchandise, for example." But Ross said that if the team were to mount a legal case, it would have to "prove that fans' inability to watch games directly translated to lost business opportunities." The club has "not indicated what its strategy will be -- beyond lobbying for wide carriage of the channel" (L.A. TIMES, 11/4). In L.A., Jon Healey notes TWC was "reportedly demanding close to $5 a month per subscriber for SportsNet L.A.," as those prices "reflect the king’s ransoms that popular teams and leagues have been able to command for their broadcast and retransmission rights." Most people who "live in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area probably would opt not to pay extra to watch the Dodgers" (L.A. TIMES, 11/4). 

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