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Dodgers News: Without SportsNet LA, Thousands Of Fans Missed No-Hitter

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On a historic night where Clayton Kershaw tossed his first career no-hitter, the number of those who witnessed history was much smaller than the average viewership for games last season.

Granted, Los Angeles Dodgers fans could listen to the game on the radio. And yes, highlights of the amazing feat on the internet, but it is not the same experience as watching the action live or on television.



TWC holds a contract that makes them the regional rights-holders to the Dodgers’ games. The contract stems over 25 years and equals approximately $7 billion. Many Dodger fans are unhappy over the TV rights deal that has left nearly 70 percent of Dodger fans within the Los Angeles area unable to watch games from home.

Joe Flint of the LA Times provided a glimpse into the grim reality:

TWC has yet to work out a deal with other cable providers such as AT&T, Charter Communication, DirecTV, Dish or Verizon. MLB.TV, an online channel in which you are able to watch every out-of-market MLB game for a monthly fee, does not allow you to watch Dodgers games if your device is detected within the viewing area of Southern California.

The steady fall in Nielsen ratings, which is down nearly 65 percent, is largely due to the lack of viewing access. Dodgers fans have been out of luck for most of the season, save for the occasional nationally broadcasted games.

Team president Stan Kasten told fans he doesn’t believe DirecTV will add the network to its programming this season, but recently, controlling owner Mark Walter suggested there is constant communication on getting deals completed and expressed optimism.

Currently, SportsNet LA is also available to Bright House Networks and Champion Broadband subscribers.
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7 Comments

  1. Your headline is misleading… 70% of Dodger fans didn’t see the game!! A few thousand makes it sound trivial and that’s why Stan Kasten doesn’t DO something!!!!!

    MLBtv showed the last 3 innings as they did with Beckett’s and Ryu until he lost his perfect game. Got to see the most important innings and it’s not a single dollar in Kasten’s pocket!!!!

    Until DirectTV agrees, the rest of the carriers won’t agree. This is purely a business competition. TWC can’t afford to pay on this deal for very long unless the others join in. Everyone got screwed on the similar Lakers deal and NO ONE wants to repeat that!! PLUS the other carriers would like to see TWC fail! As would most of the fans who WILL NOT SWITCH!!!

    Idiot “businessmen” owners didn’t see this coming!!!

    TWC is a terrible service!!! NO THANK YOU!!!

    Stan Kasten has blown his chance with Dodger fans! Guggenheim Baseball can go BROKE for all we care. They have dissed the fans and we will find other ways to get our Dodgers. NO THANK YOU to the TV deal till it’s FREE for ALL of us!!!!

    Radio works, and MLBtv serves us well when history is truly being made….Even got to hear Vin Scully cal it!!!

  2. It’s all big bucks I really doubt that good ol’ Rah, Rah, Stan Kasten is losing any sleep over most of the South land not being able to get their Dodgers . they already got that money from TWC! I can only agree with the above poter on all points and can only hope TWC buckles under their massive T.V. contract ,similar to the one the Houston Astros had .Te cable company that signed on to carru their games wet bankrupt for the very same reason TWC is doing right now . As much as i love the Dodgers I’d like to see this BLOW up on them and TWC , It cna’t happen son enough !Bring back the O’Malley’s and Metromedia Television. We got to see the Dodgers more on Channel 11 than we do now !

  3. Hey, it’s not all bad. At least the Guggenheim group is pouring this vast sum of money into the TEAM, unlike the previous group. And it looked like many fans were so busy typing away angrily on Twitter about not being able to see the game, they didn’t even realize the last few innings were available through other channels.

    It’s not going to be a popular opinion, but for all the waxing nostalgic about the O’Malleys and how much they cared about the fans (unlike these “greedy” corporate owners), the O’Malleys were AT LEAST every bit as cold and calculating as this ownership group. Walter uprooted the team from a beloved east coast fanbase, and was complicit in helping to build a stadium that ultimately uprooted people from their west coast homes. When Dodger Stadium was first built, O’Malley didn’t even put in water fountains, so people would buy more beer. This isn’t to denigrate the old ownership or defend the new ownership, just to say that cold business decisions, often made at the expense of others, are nothing new.

    As for the Guggenheim group, yes, they should have been more careful about vetting out the best options for fans to see the Dodgers. But it should be noted that the Lakers did the exact same thing, only having better luck with outcome. (Laker fans ARE mad at their ownership group, but for an entirely different set of reasons.) This is as much about the television deal bubble that has kept MLB afloat, masking the league’s many problems, and having Selig and his misguided defenders crow about how baseball has never been in better shape. With this TWC debacle, I’m guessing we’ve seen the last of these types of deals.

    I do understand why everyone’s so furious at TWC and the Dodgers, but I don’t understand why DirecTV has gotten a free pass from everyone. They’re basically sitting on their hands and smirking, while all the heat is directed at TWC. DirecTV could have at least lowered THEIR service fees, as a sign of goodwill for not providing Dodger games. But they haven’t done it. As long as all the heat is on one side, we’ll NEVER get this deal done.

    1. Yes if Dodger management really cared they would have renegotiated already.
      They accepted this bad deal without giving much thought to what it would really cost.

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