Broadcasters Oppose Release of DOJ Documents on Ad Investigation
Plaintiffs in consolidated advertising collusion lawsuits against some large broadcasters aren’t entitled to see documents stemming from DOJ’s investigation, said a Tuesday opposition motion (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Chicago from defendants, which include Nexstar, Sinclair and Tribune…
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(see 1810050041). Those companies reached consent decrees with Justice for sharing ad pricing information but didn’t admit wrongdoing, defendants said. The request is premature, mischaracterizes the investigation as involving price fixing, and would require a substantial and expensive effort to prevent release of confidential contract information, the broadcasters said. “Plaintiffs’ existing complaints make no effort to describe the conduct any Defendant allegedly engaged in or to allege any facts to show that such conduct was unlawful,” the opposition motion said. Most documents were provided to DOJ as part of Sinclair's failed buy of Tribune, and “the great bulk of the documents produced to DOJ in the merger investigation (approximately 5.5 million in total) are irrelevant to the issues in this case,” the broadcasters said.