DIRECTV Extends Deal to Carry Dodgers, Lakers Channels – But With a Twist
Dodger Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DIRECTV has signed a new multi-year agreement with Charter’s Spectrum Networks to continue carrying their two regional sports networks, Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA, the TV homes of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers respectively. The deal covers DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream and U-verse which will provide the channels in Southern and Central California, portions of Nevada including Las Vegas, and Hawaii.
In addition, Spectrum is allowing DIRECTV to offer the channels to fewer customers. This is a switch for the RSN industry which traditionally has forced TV providers to include their channels in most, if not all, plans to reach more viewers. Channels are paid by the number of subscribers who have access to them, not by the number who actually watch. However, Spectrum says in a press release that it has to acknowledge the pay TV industry is changing due to cord cutting and that pay TV operators need more flexibility in packaging and pricing.
“While viewing habits continue to shift, it’s clear that regular season professional sports programming remains extremely popular…that said…the model for RSNs needs to evolve to reflect the realities of the marketplace,” Spectrum Networks senior vice president Dan Finnerty said in a press release.
DIRECTV and DIRECTV Stream have already excluded the two LA-based RSNs from their least expensive plan, Entertainment. But a company spokesman says this new agreement with Spectrum will create “even more opportunities” to only provide the channels to subscribers who want them. He did not elaborate.
To amplify Charter’s new position on RSNs, Sports Business Journal reports that its Spectrum TV service will soon split its expanded basic Select plan into two: One package, called Spectrum TV Select Plus, will include RSNs, while Spectrum Select Signature will not include them. The latter plan will be around $10 cheaper, SBJ writes.
The new plans are expected to be rolled out to new customers in the third quarter.
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Can’t read this article as it does not show. Way… too much advertising making it very confusing to navigate.
Would you pay a subscription for an ad-free feed?
No article here.
There’s something wrong with the mobile version.
Should be fixed now.
Should be fixed.
I used to have Spectrum Internet and watched the Lakers games on Spectrum Sportsnet. The games were alive with no commercial breaks. I just changed to DIRECTV about two months ago because DIRECTV had Spectrum Sportsnet and said I could watch the Lakers Games Live. This is not true. When you are watching a Lakers Game on DIRECTV, Spectrum Sportsnet has these LONG stretches of “Commercial Break In Progress”–the game broadcast stops, that blue screen comes up, and minutes later the game broadcast resumes. Those blue screen pauses do NOT occur when you have Spectrum Internet and are watching Spectrum Sportsnet. Tonight when the Lakers game began on DIRECTV I went into the Lakers App on my iPhone. It showed the game was more than 10 minutes into the second quarter. Those Blue Screens really make the game ‘tape delayed’.