DirecTV is being sued for false advertising over its recent claim that subscribers will be able to watch its NFL Sunday Ticket service for free.
“Free” in this case means a two-year subscription with the second year at full-price, and with a cancellation fee should you try and get out earlier. So far so usual, right? Well, yes, except that this lawsuit has been filed by rival cable provider Comcast.
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Comcast isn’t any stranger to false advertising claims of its own (AT&T, Verizon and DirecTV have all filed claims at some point in the past), but the lawsuit filed yesterday not only claims that DirecTV is “a serial false advertiser,” but also that the company is “falsely disparaging cable television service generally — and, by clear implication, Comcast’s cable services specifically.” The “clear implication” comes from the promotion’s mention of the Philadelphia Eagles, a team sponsored by Comcast.
It’s like a high-profile legal version of “I know you are, but what am I?” with a little bit of football mixed in, so it’ll probably be fun to see it play out in court.
DirecTV, unsurprisingly, hasn’t commented on the lawsuit yet.
Graeme McMillan is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.