SCL attorneys have litigated consequential antitrust actions on behalf of small businesses and large media conglomerates in virtually every media market. We also counsel media clients on acquisitions and appear before various antitrust and communications enforcement agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission.
Key cases:
SCL attorneys are among the court-appointed plaintiffs’ steering committee in an antitrust class action against the largest owners of local television stations in the United States, with revenues exceeding $28 billion. Our team filed one of the first complaints following the Department of Justice investigation into potential antitrust violations in local television ad sales. Plaintiffs reached settlements with CBS and Fox in 2021, and with Cox Media in early 2022 for a total of $48 million. Litigation remains ongoing.
SCL attorneys successfully represented News Corp. in the antitrust review of its $5.6 billion acquisition of Chris-Craft Industries, an owner of television broadcast stations throughout the United States, and its sale of Fox Family Worldwide to the Walt Disney Company.
This case concerned the monopolization of a television broadcast market through exclusive contracts with virtually all major television broadcast networks. The case successfully resulted in our client securing one of the network contracts.
SCL attorneys co-led a team that successfully advocated against the merger to the Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission and 23 state attorneys general, arguing it violated the Clayton and Communications acts. As a result, the proposed merger was not consummated.
SCL attorneys represented News America Marketing in its successful acquisition of Heritage Media.
SCL attorneys represent Altanovo (previously Afilias) in ongoing international arbitrations regarding the ICANN auction of the generic top-level domain .web.
SCL attorneys successfully represented the Writers Guild of America in landmark litigation against the three leading Hollywood talent agencies for fixing the price of packaging fees and defending the guild against claims that its Agency Code of Conduct constituted a group boycott.