Time Warner Cable strikes out with providers over Dodgers deal

Leslie Lopez Image
Friday, April 1, 2016
Time Warner Cable strikes out with providers over Dodgers deal
Just days before the start of the 2016 baseball season, Time Warner Cable has struck out in its efforts to get other providers to carry its Dodgers channel SportsNet LA.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's not what Dodger fans want to hear. Just days before the start of the 2016 baseball season, Time Warner Cable has struck out in its efforts to get other providers to carry its Dodgers channel, SportsNet LA.

Opening day is Monday, but for another season, a lot of Dodger fans won't be able to watch the games on TV.

TWC failed to reach an agreement with other cable and satellite providers to air Dodger games.

This will be the third year Dodger fans who do not subscribe to TWC, Charter or Bright House will not be able to watch the games on TV.

Currently, TWC has distribution rights to air Dodger games, and they're trying to sell those games to other providers like AT&T, DirecTV, Cox and Verizon. Those providers are accusing TWC of not offering a fair price.

However, TWC says it did its best to reach an agreement with providers like Cox and DirecTV, but the bad blood from years of this dispute may have sunk any chance of a solution.

Time Warner Cable released the following statement Thursday night:

    "We've offered short-term deals and long-term deals, we've lowered the price by 30%, we've asked for arbitration, we've offered to pay them the same thing they charge for their Regional Sports Networks, we've told them we'd meet them anytime, anywhere to negotiate, and nothing has worked. They've rejected every offer we've made. We don't believe they're interested in carrying SportsNet LA, and fans should switch to Time Warner Cable, Charter or Bright House Networks if they want to see the Dodgers."

This leaves the majority of Dodger fans in the Southland without a way to watch the games from home. According to ESPN, that's 70 percent of the market.

MORE: Time Warner Cable proposes new offer on Dodgers channel

Fans wishing to see the games on TV will have to get creative, with fans saying they'll have to watch the games at a friend's house, a bar or listen to the game on the radio.

But some say they'll make the switch. Dodgers fan John De Rosa of Azusa said he is quitting DirecTV and switching to Charter so he can watch his team play.

Dodgers third-baseman Justin Turner weighed in on the dispute.

"I don't know all the details of it, but hopefully they'll get things straightened out and give everyone in L.A. the opportunity to see us play," Turner said.

Cox and DirecTV did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Adding insult to injury for fans, this is beloved announcer Vin Scully's last season.