The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the fourth year of a record television-rights contract signed with Time Warner Cable, which now operates under the Spectrum Networks umbrella. The lucrative deal that spawned SportsNet LA is a point of contention for other pay-TV providers.
Specifically, AT&T-DirecTV has remained steadfast in their refusal to add the Dodgers’ exclusive network to their long list of channel offerings. That’s been despite multiple offers made by Spectrum, short- and long-term, which included a lower carriage rate.
The United States justice department filed a lawsuit last November against AT&T-DirecTV, alleging collusion to block the distribution of SportsNet LA. A settlement was reached in March without bringing an end to the impasse.
Considering DirecTV’s stance, a resolution is not expected to be reached any time soon, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t appear to have much impetus to involve himself in potential negotiations, per Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times:
“It’s not my job to tell a club to renegotiate its television agreements,” Manfred said. “I think the much more productive course, and we have pursued this course, is to try to work with the parties who actually have an economic interest here” — the Dodgers, Charter and cable and satellite operators.
“I remain very concerned about the issue,” the commissioner added. “As I have said repeatedly, I don’t have a seat at that table.”
Manfred expressed the same sentiment in January 2016 and said the league was in contact with the Dodgers over the lingering impasse. Local Congresswoman Janice Hahn attempted to facilitate a meeting in April to end the stalemate, though to no avail.
This season Spectrum agreed to simulcast 10 regular-season games on KTLA5, one of the previous homes of the Dodgers. It was a third such instance SportsNet LA was temporarily offered on a local channel.
