Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Stan Kasten Warns Fans DirecTV May Not Add SportsNet LA

[new_royalslider id=”75″] The Los Angeles Dodgers are 22 games into their regular season schedule and odds are if you haven’t had the benefit of attending games, you’ve only seen but a handful on TV. The Dodgers were the latest team to launch their own network in partnership with a cable provider. In owning their own network, SportsNet LA, the Dodgers have a deal in place that will land them just north of $8 billion over the next 25 years.

The additional revenue has aided in the Dodgers’ ability to sign free agents and re-sign players to lucrative deals. A byproduct of SportsNet LA however, has been fans who are signed with other cable providers have essentially been left in the dark. Outside of Time Warner, SportsNet LA is only available to Bright House Networks and Champion Broadband customers.



It’s been a war of words between TWC executives and representatives from other companies. Dish Network executive vice president David Shull said in early March they were unlikely to carry SportsNet LA and thus far Dish has held true to their word. More recently, TWC and DirecTV sparred through the media, likely in an effort for the respective sides to gain the general public’s support.

News of negotiations or any progress has been nonexistent, however recently, Dodgers president Stan Kasten told fans he believes DirecTV will not carry SportsNet LA the entire season, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin:

Dodgers President Stan Kasten acknowledged that he has told fans he expects DirecTV to hold out all season.

As more time has passed without deals being struck, fans have begun to turn their anger towards the Dodgers. Kasten is well aware of the frustration, but resigns to the fact that there isn’t much the Dodgers can do:

It’s an issue that consumes us every day,” Kasten said. “We are doing all that we can behind the scenes to help Time Warner and get this into as many homes as possible. I have to be honest: there are not a lot of things we can do.”

As the season continues, if TWC is unable to come to terms with other cable carriers, the Dodgers may face more scrutiny. Should thousands of fans be left in the dark, the Dodgers’ decision to create SportsNet LA may prove more costly than they anticipated.
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24 Comments

  1. B.S. dodgers have a say in it I am a true dodgers fan. I cant even see the games you guys just dont jave the balls to stand up to time warner and say let your fans see the dodgers im am a patient person but come on I want my dodgers

  2. This is stupid. What ever happened to this being America’s Pass time? We have Charter Communications were we live. Time Warner is not available. We can not switch to a different carrier, we like Millions of other loyal fans are stuck in the dark. We can’t even listen to it on the radio half the time because MLB has it blocked! Someone needs to do something now. TWC is going to hold out and the real fans are the ones that are going to lose in this deal. The Powers that be at the Dodgers should have thought about the fans more and done a little bit of homework on the Overall Market that TWC really has verse the fan base of the Dodgers.

    My husband and I have been a Dodger fan for over 40 yrs.Our children are Dodger fans and my son wants to play for the Dodgers some day but……If we can’t watch or listen to the games the what is the use in being a fan? Follow what is going on with the team on Facebook, Twitter? Just give us back our team to watch.

  3. Every year my household, which consists of myself and my fiancé,subscribe to mlb extra innings. And now, due to the fact that we have directTv, which we chose to switch from another cable provider. I have to pay for MLBTv to view the Dodgers games. Even when it states that they will be viewed through Extra Innings ,hey aren’t. I refuse.. REFUSE to switch cable providers because owners of my favorite ball club, THE DODGERS, have decided to pad their pockets, instead of giving back to the fans. As I stated in my email of early April, that was responded to be a member of your “FAN SERVICES” your fans are angry and many have stated in comments that they will not attend a game until they can view one from the comfort of their own living room on their television.

    Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter Mr. Kasten:

    Marlene Parson

    1. Time Warner has the same basic channels, and/or premium channels as DirectTV , plus it has SportsNet LA, and the cost is about the same , to me it’s a no brainer,………….Time Warner!! Honestly I liked directtv better, but I like the Dodgers better than both service providers , I have no loyalty towards DirectTV, DISH, VERIZON, or TWC, my loyalty goes to whoever has the Dodgers, because the cost for TV is about the same from all

  4. I, like many others I know, will not go to a game this year. I even removed the Dodgers as a team from MLB and Score Center on my phone as I don’t even want to see the updates because I can’t go home and watch a game. I have been a Dodger fan for as long as I can remember. My whole family backs the Dodgers. Not one of us will go to a game because of this stupid decision the team owners have made. My 5 year old nephew wants to watch his Dodgers play and keeps asking why he can’t watch the games. What happens when all these kids can’t watch the team play ball? They get a new team and leave the one that left them. As a fan, I feel left behind by a team ownership that cares very little for the fans and a lot more for what seemed like a lot of money. How much money can you make if your fans turn away from the team? The current ownership is making McCourt look good.

  5. When you live up in the mountains you don’t have a choice to switch to TWC! It is Direct TV or no TV! Have been a Loyal Dodger Fan for 51 years now we can’t see them play on TV!! This is all about Money well Guess you won’t see me spending any at Dodger Stadium!!

    1. I called Directv this morning and got a credit of $10 off my bill for six months – I think they are giving out credits now to customers that complain to try to appease the. My friend got $5 off for six months.

  6. TWC is paying $2 million per game in broadcast fees for 50,000 viewers? how can they sustain w/ out fees they would be getting from DIrectv… this is bad. Why do the fans always have to suffer when there’s a feud?

  7. Dodger management should have known that Time Warner Cable was going to be a problem! Look what happened with the Laker’s. For Kasten to come out and say that Dodgers Management are unable do anything about this issue is baloney! The Dodgers made the wrong decision and it is hurting the fans and will eventually hurt their bottom line.

    Dodgers management if you want to keep your loyal fans, get Time Warner Cable to cooperate with other tv providers.

    I blame Dodger management for this mess, they did not have to use TWC.

  8. “I have to be honest: there are not a lot of things we can do.”

    Stan do you think we are stupid???

    One word….. RENEGOTIATE!

    YES it is your fault, you didn’t have to accept the deal from TWC.

    Its real simple, we just want to watch our team on TV. Sorry we can’t live at the stadium.

  9. Total Bull! The Dodgers are gonna fall back into the McCort / FOX days if they don’t get something done. What good is a spectator sport that you can not see! You can not just switch providers to a cable company. If its not in your area you are screwed. I got Directv because Time Warner was horrible. I am definitely not gonna switch just to see the Dodgers and be have the miserable TW service the rest of the time! If you wont give us games on TV, why should we give you money for games. Stay home, listen to Vin on the Radio. Hold your cash people!

  10. TWC can ONLY afford to pay out on this deal IF they get more subscribers OR they get other carriers to agree to charge ALL of their subscribers a fee to carry the channel. Bottom line is if the others refuse to go through with it, TWC will eventually fail.

    NOT a good business deal on either side. Guggenheim Baseball made a very BAD decision!!! And the FANS are the ones paying for it. 70% of Dodger ans do not have TWC and can only get the games on radio. MLB blacks out the games to anyone living in the LA region.

    The Yankees did this kind of deal and their fans were out of luck for a very long time!!! Other teams have done the same thing and some don’t have TV after several years.

    I had TWC for a few years because it was the only game in town. I would NEVER go back! Not even for the Dodgers. I’m angry and very disappointed, but I can listen on the radio like we had to for many years. I will go to the same number of games I always have gone to. How does this help the Dodgers??? I think they blew the only funds they’re going to get from this deal and TWC will eventually claim bankruptcy and the deal will be null and void. I love the Dodgers but I hope it happens.

    When you mess with loyal fans you lose!!!! This didn’t have to be this way. Guggenheim had the money to buy their own channel and produce it themselves and then sell rights to all carriers independently. That combined with advertising rights would surpass what they have and everyone would have access and be happy.

    STUPID BUSINESS DEAL!!!!!

  11. I think we should all boycott the Dodgers , they are greedy and don’t care about there fans .a lot of fans don’t live in a area where they can get twc of Chamption so what do we do? Does Dodgers Mangement care no they don’t they just want to fill there bank acount with out any thought to the fans that made the dodgers what they are today after 50 years of being a loyal fan this is the thanks we get. It’s sad and I have no kind words for your saying to bad.

  12. your stupid Mr. Kasten. maybe u need to step in because i’m not switching over.

  13. As others have previously stated. I also have issues with providers. Not only do I live out of state, I also live on an island who provides one company not being tw or satellite. Before I moved out of California last year I attended many games and spent plenty of money while there. Fix this problem before you lose many fans. On the basis of not being able to watch the team we love. Many fans have watch year after year while the team has not been great. Still the loyalty exists. Show the same loyalty in return now that the team shows great promise. We DESERVE it.

  14. If there is a lack of fans in the stands to support our team . Greatly it’s because of this business negotiations going on. There is a reason we preferred to switch from time Warner they shut us out from dodger games with kcal last season. And now this time Warner is monopolizing my area. What happened to having the right to choose ?

  15. I honestly can not believe not only the Dodger owners allowed this to happen, but so did MLB did as well. They should control these things or at least monitor situations like this more closely. This was obviously a money driven decision and they simply did not take the entire fan base into consideration when signing this deal. Not everyone can get TimeWarner Cable. Many people in the L.A. area and surrounding cities don’t even have access to it. Not to mention, can even afford it. TWC is expensive. So even in those areas where it’s available, people don’t want to pay that high cable bill. It’s so sad when these new owners come in, make promises to spend money on free agents of which they did, improve the stadium of which they did, they said they fixed the parking….ummm I don’t think so, and then sign a T.V. deal that basically eliminates television viewing for about 70% of their fans. This was their worst move by far. Nothing they can do about it?!!! There “WAS” something they could’ve done… NOT SIGN A DEAL THAT ALIENATES THE MAJORITY OF THEIR FANS. It’s truly a shame.
    As for me, I’ve been a fan for almost 40 years and I actually live in a neighborhood that can get TWC. I’m a DirecTv subscriber and will not be leaving them just to watch our Dodgers. That’s my personal protest. Others should do the same. I’m listening more on the radio these days like folks did 50 years ago… and you know what, it’s not that bad.

  16. I have sent a number of emails to Kasten expressing what all of you have been expressing.
    Not one reply! He know states that thei

  17. Wow. My husband and I have been Dodger fans for decades. We now live in Santa Barbara, have Cox Cable and Time Warner is not available to us. I am extremely disappointed in Dodger management who have shown so little respect for their fans. I did go to a game a few days ago because it was my birthday, and noticed the low turnout. This is what happens when you chose money over people. Good luck Dodgers when all your fans are gone.

  18. Screw TWC, I’ve figured it out guys! As long as you have good streaming, you can watch the games.
    Go to Strikeout.co
    Click on whatever game you want to watch (DODGERS of course)
    Below where you just clicked you will see 2 options to watch
    LINK 1
    LINK 2
    Don’t click on the POP UPS or download the player they ask you to or anything. Only click on these 2 links or you might get malware or spyware. Trust me, I already made the mistake of downloading the stupid player that I later realized I didn’t need :/ You may still get pop ups while on that site. The ones I get you can close but I sometimes get one that covers the game.
    If there’s a pop up covering the game screen that you can’t close, simply click on the bottom right corner of the game window to view “FULL SCREEN” and it works perfectly. If by chance you try to close the screen that’s blocking the game it will open a new window to another website. Simply close it, go back to the game and hit full screen to view it without problems. It sometimes freezes up but just close it out and open it again and it works just fine. I’m going to hook up my HDMI cable from my laptop to my tv today and watch the game on my 60” ? Hope this works for you guys, Enjoy

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