Dodgers games may be coming to a Southern California TV near you
One of baseball’s biggest position battles, one that’s been going on for over two years now, may finally be headed toward a resolution before the end of spring training.
Since the 2014 season Los Angeles Dodgers games have been carried on Time Warner Cable’s SportsNet LA, which has been the cause of much conflict.
Why? Because currently only the 1.8 million homes in Southern California served by Time Warner Cable or Charter Communications have access to the channel, meaning households with DirecTV, AT&T, Verizon and Cox Communications are left without even the option to watch the reigning National League West champions.
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The reason for the distribution disconnect? Money, of course. The other cable providers have been unwilling to pay Time Warner Cable what they’ve believed to be an absurd price for the channel, especially as many consumers are going away from traditional TV, cord-cutting as they say, because of high costs.
The reason for optimism? The Los Angeles Times reports Time Warner Cable is willing to offer SportsNet LA at a 30% discount for this season, dropping the price from $4.90 to $3.50 per month. This is the first time TWC has been open to lowering their demands.
The reason for this urgency? Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully is entering his 67th and final year calling Dodgers games and every loyal fan wants to soak in every last second of Scully’s brilliance in the booth. From the Times:
“We owe it to Dodger fans to try to get a deal done, especially because of the historic nature of this year with it being [baseball announcer] Vin Scully’s final season,” Time Warner Cable spokesman Andrew Fegyveresi said late Tuesday.
[Related: Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier out 10-14 weeks with leg injury]
If that’s enough for all parties involved to strike a deal remains to be seen. What we do now is that it would be a crying shame if Scully’s goodbye season wasn’t made available to the masses in Southern California.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
