It is most certainly a monopolistic deal, but as I stated quite a few posts ago, not one that is or should be illegal. This is a deal that as Jimbo mentioned, was available to all, and everyone making a fuss over it is sore losers. DTV took the chance of a lifetime and won. And being smart business negotiators, they have that wonderful little clause that when the contracts expire, they get first chance to accept the NFLs new price, or leave it behind. Not all monopolies are bad or illegal. You do not see other companies with AutoHop, or with the availability to add sling to their equipment(internal to the company), so does that mean Dish does not get to use sling? No, they can use it, even though Sling Media is another company, attached to Echostar, because they have exclusive rights for the internal product. Of course people can buy sling boxes and do it that way, but that is through Sling Media and not their provider. Also, people can buy Sunday Ticket without DTV in areas where DTV cannot be offered.
To prove this point about monopolies even further, I want everyone to count how many electric and water companies are in their town. Typically, there is only 1, in some cases maybe 2. They have a local monopoly because the government grants them that. Are what they doing illegal, or cost effective? It is keeping those companies alive, and since they were the ones to bid and accept the terms of the city at that time, they got control. This lawsuit is frivolous at best, and the only claim that can be made is monopoly, but it is going to be hard to prove that this monopoly is going to bankrupt competitors, and is bad trade. This is just two smart businesses working together(although the NFL is a non profit supposedly, with deals like this they should be required to pay taxes, and from the looks of it may have recently shed its non profit tax exempt status) to make a product the most wanted and watched thing in the US. This is Capitalism at its finest and exactly what our country is about.