/ STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Justice Department has stepped into the Dodgers’ SportsNet L.A. three-year distribution fiasco by filing a lawsuit Wednesday against DirecTV, and new parent company AT&T, as a “ringleader” for unlawful “orchestrating information sharing agreements” with competing cable companies.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court in L.A., alleges DirecTV exchanged “competitively-sensitive information” with Cox Communications, Charter Communications and AT&T as negotiations were taking place after the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable launched the channel in February, 2014.
“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,” Justice Department lawyer Jonathan Sallet said.