AT&T/DirecTV give in to government demands in collusion lawsuit settlement

(credit: Aurich Lawson)

DirecTV and its owner, AT&T, have promised the US Department of Justice that they will not illegally share information with rival pay-TV providers in order to keep the price of TV channels down.

The DOJ sued DirecTV and AT&T in November 2016, saying the satellite-TV company colluded with competitors during contentious negotiations to broadcast Los Angeles Dodgers games. AT&T initially said that it looked forward to defending itself in court. But yesterday, the company agreed to a settlement "without trial or adjudication of any issue of fact or law."

The proposed settlement, pending court approval, "will obtain all of the relief sought by the department in its lawsuit," the DOJ said in its announcement.

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