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TIME WARNER CABLE WINS DODGERS TV RIGHTS

J

justpassingthough

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-source-time-warner-cable-211229406--mlb.html

According to sources, it will be announced this week that Time Warner Cable will be paying $7 billion for rights to the Los Angeles Dodgers, effectively ending their agreement with Fox after the 2013 season.

The Dodgers will not air on the recently created for the Lakers' Time Warner Cable Sportsnet, though. There will be a separate Dodgers channel owned by the team but run by Time Warner.

It looks like cable bills are about to take another beating in the LA market.
 
Not much of a surprise that Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers are teaming up, since they already had an existing marketing partnership, which includes a Dodgers On-Demand channel on the local TWC system.

However, it's just kind of a waste of bandwith to create a separate new channel for the Dodgers when there's already an existing channel (Time Warner Cable SportsNet). There's not much spring and summer programming on TWCSN, unless you like MLS and the WNBA. With this, this poses a problem for Fox, as they have two networks locally in Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket; the latter channel has been the Dodgers' exclusive cable TV home since 1997. Also with Fox launching new national sports networks (thus rendering FSN useless especially if Fox moves the existing FSN deals to Fox Sports 1, 2, and 3), the local sports rights with the other existing teams are the only thing keeping channels like West and Prime Ticket alive. Both the Angels and NHL Kings are locked into long-term deals with Fox (Angels twenty years; Kings ten), while the Clippers' current deal expires after the 2015-16 season, and I'm unsure of when the Anaheim Ducks' TV deal with Fox expires.
 
I'm in the Time Warner Cable LA system (the old Wilshire portion) and I noticed a rate increase effect the 1st of the year. While it was an across the board rate increase for the basic, expanded and sports packages along with bumped rates for all equipment, it can't be a coincidence that TWC had to pass along part of that $3 billion over 20 years for Lakers' rights.

At least I actually watch the Lakers, though. I'm an Angels fan so I'll be a little irritated if I have to pay even more when that put that Dodgers channel in the center of the lineup and call it a "basic" channel.
 
I'm not far from you...I'm in the South Los Angeles/Baldwin Hills service area, but I recently dumped TWC to go back to DirecTV. DirecTV also had a rate increase at the start of the New Year, as I noticed my bill increase by nearly six dollars more per month for my programming package.

These rates are going to increase no matter, as long as the programmers and provider continue with these rate disputes, with one or the other ultimately caving-in, and the customers paying a bigger price.
 
Amazing deal for the Dodgers. Not so good for TWC or cable bills though. TWC will use this as a loss leader to keep Dodgers fans from switching to Dish or DirecTV.
 
Watch both the Lakers and Dodger channels merge within a year. Right now TWC Sportsnet can barely find anything outside of Lakers programming to rerun, and I shudder to think of how this summer is going to go, especially if the Lakers are out of contention and the Galaxy shows get MTV Jams-like ratings.
 
mgsports said:
Don't forget UCLA,USC and so on.
What should they name the Channel and Comcast should get it?
Click to expand...

Since its owned by the Dodgers and only being marketed by Time Warner, I'm sure the Dodgers have primary input on the name and it will end up being named something like Dodgers Nation or Dodgers TV.

I also assume that Time Warner will want to sell the channel to the other MSOs in the market (Charter and Cox primarily) to help recoup the costs of the $7 billion.
 
UCLA and USC are locked into ESPN's Pac-12 network for the next several years. This has ended up being the worst possible time for the first year of the new Lakers network: Team in near last place, 24/7 whining and moping about how bad things are going. Only the die-hard fans will be left watching by April.
 
What I can't figure out is why in the world they wouldn't put both teams on the same channel? There are OTA options for those nights the Dodgers and Lakers conflict.
 
schmave said:
What I can't figure out is why in the world they wouldn't put both teams on the same channel? There are OTA options for those nights the Dodgers and Lakers conflict.
Click to expand...

In the case of the Lakers, they do not have ownership in the network. Time Warner's $3 billion over 20 years granted them rights to the Lakers and they used it to start a network and sell the advertising and rights to the network to other MSOs.

With the Dodgers, the club will own the network, not Time Warner. TWC will sell advertising inventory and promotions and the like, but the network will still be owned by the Dodgers.

It does not make a whole lot of sense, though, as there is a lot of underutilized time on Time Warner Cable Sportsnet- so I would think it would be better to sell a portion of the network to the Dodgers and have them share a network then how it will be structured.
 
schmave said:
What I can't figure out is why in the world they wouldn't put both teams on the same channel? There are OTA options for those nights the Dodgers and Lakers conflict.
Click to expand...

It seems that they are not building a "sports network", or even two sports networks. A general sports network is so 1999. This is Niche Programming 101. The Dodgers want a station all their own. From March to October, live games will be a daily event. As it is now, PrimeTicket usually airs each game three times (once live, a midnight re-air, and a next-day noon condensed-to-two-hours version). The Dodger Network will likely do the same. Add in an hour pre-game, post-game, half-hour interview programs with current/past players, all run endlessly and the schedule is pretty much full. Add in 6-8 hours of paid programming, which is money right into their pockets.

For the off-season, they could show classic games, re-air interview shows, and other off-season documentary programming. (And increase the paid programming to 10-12 hours a day.) Not many will watch, but when there is Dodger News, fans will know what channel will have the scoop.

MLB Network, NBA TV, and NHL Network have all proven that they can program year around and that they will have some audience watching. With two new channels, Time Warner will get to charge subscribers twice !
 
Isn't it amazing how Los Angeles will have six regional sports networks, yet it can't support an NFL franchise? :eek:
 
DToTheJ said:
Isn't it amazing how Los Angeles will have six regional sports networks, yet it can't support an NFL franchise? :eek:
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Some people say LA isn't a true sports town, because there are too many other distractions here. I think the support for the Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Angels, Dodgers, and the SC and UCLA college programs say otherwise.

The end of the NFL in LA was dictated by poor ownership and crumbling infrastructure, not lack of fan support, in my opinion.
 
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