Keeping Tabs On Antitrust Actions In Entertainment Industry Sectors

In June 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Microsoft and video-game giant Activision Blizzard to block the former's acquisition of the latter during the FTC's ongoing investigation into whether the acquisition would violate federal antitrust law. Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft, 3:23-cv-02880 (N.D.Cal.). This followed the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority's proposed final order in May 2023 barring a Microsoft/Activision combination for at least ten years on the ground that it would greatly diminish competition in the cloud-gaming industry.

But antitrust challenges have been pursued in more modest-sized entertainment industry sectors, such as in the current consolidated lawsuit against Pandora Media involving claims of hundreds of comedians seeking streaming royalties for use of the literary content of their recorded routines. In re Pandora Media LLC Copyright Litigation, 2:22-cv-00809. In October 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Central District California dismissed Pandora's antitrust counterclaims in which the streaming service challenged the comedians' exclusive "affiliation agreements" with blanket-licensing agent Word Collections that allow Word to charge the same licensing fee for each comedian's content. Pandora alleged "these exclusive affiliation agreements amount to a conspiracy, whereby Word Collections and the Comedians have agreed not to license 'independently outside of the cartel.'"