Charter Communications, which has deals in place to buy Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, plans to add TWC's SportsNet LA, the network that carries Los Angeles Dodgers games but has not been seen on major pay-TV distributors in Southern California other than TWC and Bright House, the Los Angeles Timesreported.
The newspaper said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge said in an interview Tuesday "we are going to get the Dodgers on" and "we want the Dodgers on every outlet and we are committed to making that happen."
Time Warner Cable confirmed Charter's intent, saying in a statement that "Charter is committed to carrying SportsNet LA as soon as possible. We're excited for Charter customers to enjoy the network's games and in-depth programming.”
SportsNet LA is in the second season of showing Dodgers' games under a 25-year rights deal with the team's owners, Guggenheim Partners. Distributors such as DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-verse, Cox Communications and Charter have balked at paying more than $4 per customer to offer the channel to their subscribers, frustrating fans in the region. Charter has about 300,000 subscribers in Southern California, the Times said.
