ESPN and Verizon settle lawsuit over customizable FiOS TV plans
It took more than a year for both parties to come to terms.
It's been more than a year since ESPN sued Verizon over Custom FiOS TV, a channel bundle that allows subscribers to make à la carte selections. But today, the companies announced they have settled their lawsuit, which was filed in New York's Supreme Court in 2015. Back then, ESPN argued that while it embraced "innovative ways to deliver high-quality content to consumers on multiple platforms," it simply wanted Verizon to abide by its terms of contracts. Verizon, on the other hand, denied any wrongdoing.
"Consumers have spoken loud and clear that they want choice, and the industry should be focused on giving consumers what they want," Verizon said in a statement after ESPN filed the lawsuit. "We are well within our rights under our agreements to offer customers these choices." ESPN wasn't the only network to come out against Verizon's flexible TV packages, either: Fox Sports and NBC did too, although they never took any legal action.
ESPN and Verizon said terms of the settlement will not be disclosed to the public, with each adding that they look forward to growing their long-standing relationship. Terry Denson, Verizon's vice president of content and strategy acquisition, said in a press release that the carrier will continue to collaborate with ESPN "to deliver customers content across all of our platforms." He added, "ESPN is an important partner of ours."
We have reached out to both parties for additional comment and will update this story if we hear back.
