Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully’s final six games will simulcast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA and KTLA, Charter announced Friday morning. The first game KTLA will broadcast is the Dodgers’ home matchup with the Colorado Rockies on Friday, Sept. 23.
Their coverage that evening will include airing the pregame ceremony scheduled to take place on ‘Vin Scully Appreciation Day.’ The simulcast schedule includes games against the Rockies on Sept. 24 and 25, and the Dodgers’ final three games of the regular season against the San Francisco Giants (Sept. 30-Oct. 2).
Scully will not call the games in San Diego from Sept. 27-29.
“At Charter, we’re focused on delivering the best sports entertainment possible through networks such as SportsNet LA,” executive vice president of Spectrum Networks Michael Bair said in a statement.
“This award-winning network is only available today through Charter, and providing this preview during Vin Scully’s last few games is a great way to allow all Dodger fans to enjoy the legendary announcer as he closes out his iconic career. We’re also looking forward to showcasing the network as a way to remind all Dodger fans who don’t subscribe to Charter what they’re missing.”
Charter completed their purchase of Time Warner Cable in May. Prior to that becoming official, TWC was turned away in their multiple attempts to end the impasse with other cable/satellite providers.
“We’ve offered short-term deals and long-term deals, we’ve lowered the price by 30 percent,” TWC spokesperson Andrew Fegyveresi said in a statement to DodgerBlue.com in April.
“We’ve asked for arbitration, we’ve offered to pay them the same thing they charge for their RSNs (Regional Sports Networks).”
Fegyveresi, like countless others, was hopeful this being Vin Scully’s final season in the broadcast booth would provide enough incentive to bring an end the stalemate.
The 2016 season marks the third consecutive year distribution of Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA has been hindered by pay-TV providers, specifically AT&T/DirecTV, refusing to come to any sort of agreement on carriage terms.
Congresswoman Janice Hahn of the 44th district in California wrote letters to Time Warner Cable and AT&T requesting a joint meeting in effort to find a resolution, which DirecTV rejected.
KTLA is of course familiar to the Dodgers as their games were carried by the over-the-air channel for several years. This would mark the second time SportsNet LA games have been simulcast.
In October 2014, the Dodgers’ final six games of the season aired on KDOC, an independent station that can be received with an over-the-air antenna and is carried by all providers in Southern California.
The Dodgers’ remaining schedule features several National League West division matchups, including six games with the rival Giants.
