New Jersey residents may be interested to learn that Verizon is being sued by ESPN over its new ‘Custom TV” programming plan. According to ESPN, Verizon violated its contract with ESPN by offering customers a new slimmed-down TV plan. However, a spokeswoman for ESPN has stated that the details of the breach of contract claims are unable to be revealed because of confidentiality agreements that the two companies have entered into.
Verizon began offering customers the new Custom TV plan in late April. The plan costs $55 a month and provides some of the most popular cable channels as well as local TV stations. In addition to these channels, customers who subscribe to Custom TV can customize their TV plan by selecting two of seven different channel bundles. Two of those bundles include ESPN channels.
According to ESPN, Verizon’s decision to offer Custom TV violated existing agreements with ESPN. Currently, ESPN receives $6.61 a month for each subscriber to one of its channels. In the lawsuit that was filed in New York on April 27, ESPN is seeking more than $500,000 in damages from Verizon. The company has also asked a judge to order Verizon to stop offering the Custom TV plan to customers.
When two companies have a contract with each other, both companies are required by law to comply with its terms. If one party violates the terms of a contract and causes the other party to suffer a financial loss, the company that is in breach of contract could be sued for the resulting damages. A business litigation attorney can be of assistance to a client who has been harmed in this manner.
Source: USA Today, “ESPN sues Verizon over new stripped-down ‘Custom TV’ plan,” Mike Snider, April 27, 2015
