Announcement

**key2win** · 09-27-2012, 10:07 PM

Still no good news. Argh.

Time Warner Cable's broadcasts of Lakers games set for tipoff

Time Warner Cable on Monday will launch two channels — one in English, one in Spanish — to air Lakers games. It needs other distributors to carry them too, but so far none has signed up.

Steve Nash and Dwight Howard aren't the only new players on the Lakers' roster this season. The storied Los Angeles franchise also has a new local TV partner: Time Warner Cable.

For the Lakers, teaming up with Time Warner Cable is about getting more offense. The cable giant is poised to spend many millions on more programming and promotion devoted to the National Basketball Assn. team than previous rights holders Fox Sports West and KCAL-TV.

But Time Warner Cable's play is strictly a defensive move. Tired of paying big bucks for sports networks, the cable company decided to start its own and cut out the middle man. On Oct. 1, it is launching the English-language SportsNet and the Spanish-language Deportes — with the Lakers as their marquee asset.

"This is very reflective of what is going on in the ecosystem," said sports media consultant Chris Bevilacqua. "The mother of all battles is for control of the customer."

For Time Warner Cable, this is no small bet. Although neither the company nor the Lakers would comment on the terms of their 20-year rights deal, industry insiders estimate the value at $3 billion. Time Warner Cable spent an additional $55 million for rights to the Galaxy soccer team for 10 years, and more than $30 million building a facility with three studios in El Segundo to house the networks.

Time Warner Cable has more on its shopping list and is eyeing the Dodgers, whose deal with Fox's Prime Ticket expires next season.

But, to make the channels pay off, Time Warner Cable must get other distributors in the area to carry the networks as well. So far none is rushing to sign a contract.

Time Warner Cable is hoping its heavy investment in original programming beyond the games and forgoing infomercials — which fill most local sports channels when a game isn't on and provide a steady stream of cash — will help sell the networks to other distributors.

The new shows include "Backstage Lakers," which is modeled after HBO's critically acclaimed series "Hard Knocks," which follows an NFL team through training camp. "Backstage Lakers" will take fans to previously off-limits areas, including the executive suites and locker rooms.

Also in the lineup is "Floor Seats," an interview program that will showcase the Lakers' celebrity fan base, and "Laker Girls," a reality show about the team's famous eye candy.

Deportes — which will have its own reporting team and crew instead of a dubbed simulcast of the English-language broadcast of Lakers and Galaxy coverage — will also feature boxing and wrestling as well as the weekly series "#LaPrepa" about local high school sports.

Although the channels are 100% owned by Time Warner Cable, the Lakers have a lot of editorial control, including final cut over "Backstage Lakers" and other shows about the franchise. It's common for local sports channels to cede some editorial control to teams, but this agreement seems particularly restrictive.

"The approval rights were born out of a desire to be more involved in how our brand is portrayed," said Tim Harris, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Lakers.

The team, he added, isn't opening its doors to Time Warner Cable so it can act like TMZ.

"We certainly don't want someone we've allowed in the door just sniffing for a scoop," Harris said.

Time Warner Cable is on the same page.

"The Laker relationship is transcendent," said Mark Shuken, senior vice president and general manager of Time Warner Sports Regional Networks.

The channels, he promised, "will share the truth" with viewers, but it will do so in partnership with the Lakers. "We would make sure their viewpoint is represented."

The Lakers also have a lot of sway over who will cover the team, as evidenced by Time Warner Cable's backtracking on hiring former Boston Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney. Although Shuken said the decision to sever ties with Watney was between her and Time Warner Cable, the Lakers made it clear that they were not comfortable with the hire.

All that Harris would say was, "When it comes to the talent, we would certainly like to be simpatico."

A call to Watney seeking comment was not returned. Her Twitter home page features the famous Thomas Paine quote: "Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us."

With more than 2.3 million subscribers in the region, Time Warner Cable is the largest pay-TV distributor in the region. But for the new channels to succeed, they need to be carried by other local distributors, such as satellite broadcasters DirecTV and Dish Network as well as Cox, Charter and Verizon — none of which has signed up yet.

Time Warner Cable won't divulge what it is seeking for the two channels, but people familiar with the situation said the price tag is as much as $3.95 per subscriber per month for both channels depending on what part of Southern California a distributor serves. That's more than what Fox Sports West, which previously had the Lakers, charged. It is also more than Prime Ticket charges. Those channels have far more sports — Dodgers, Angels, Clippers, Kings and Ducks — than SportsNet and Deportes.

"We understand that the Lakers are popular sports programming, but that programming comes at an extremely high price," a Cox spokesman said. "Our goal is to provide Cox customers with the best TV experience at the most reasonable price."

Spokespeople for DirecTV, Dish and Charter offered similar comments.

Shuken isn't sweating yet. Negotiations between distributors and program suppliers typically heat up only when a deadline is approaching. The channels go live Monday, but the first regular-season Lakers game on the channels isn't until Oct. 31.

"We assume there will be some conversations into October. That's natural," Shuken said.

And sports fans and pay-TV subscribers will be caught in the middle.

"It's going to be a very high-profile public negotiation, and at the end of the day we'll be in our cars listening to radio ads with each side calling the other evil personified," predicted David Carter, executive director of USC's Sports Business Institute. "Ultimately it will cost more to the consumers."

**key2win** · 10-03-2012, 10:57 PM

Anyone here have TWC Sportsnet on their cable lineup?

Jeanie Buss touts Time Warner Cable's long-term benefits

The endless Twitter messages Jeanie Buss receives in her inbox mostly center on one thing — concern from Laker fans on whether their cable subscriber will feature Time Warner Cable SportsNet, which has a 20-year, $3-billion agreement to showcase Lakers programming including all their games. As The Times' Joe Flint reported, no cable outfit has agreed to TWC's asking price of an additional $3.95 per month to carry the channel.

Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president of business operations, conceded that she doesn't have the channel, either. But she relies on former Laker coach and longtime companion Phil Jackson for help. She plans to simply watch the games at Jackson's residence.

"Certainly we hope we'll be able to reach every single person living in Los Angeles and Southern California," Buss said at a recent Time Warner Cable SportsNet event. "I'm usually at the game. But when they're on the road, I'm usually hanging out with Phil since he's home. I don't see that issue coming up for myself."

Buss sounded mindful of the potential short-term repercussions over the new network. Some Laker fans could miss out on at least some preseason games should other cable providers fail to pick up Time Warner Cable's channel. Assuming that gets resolved, customers could feel the squeeze out of their own pockets.

Still, Buss hopes Laker fans understand the positive benefits the channel arrangement will bring the organization.

The Lakers have a league-high $99.2-million payroll, which will cost them an additional $28.9 million in luxury taxes. Starting next season, that burden becomes greater. NBA teams must pay a $1.50-to-$1 ratio for the first $4.99 million they are over the luxury-tax threshold, a $1.75-to-$1 ratio for being $5 million to $9.99 million above the threshold, a $2.50 ratio for $10 million to $14.99 million over, and a $3.25 ratio for $15 million to $19.99 million beyond the threshold. The Lakers will also have to shell out more money in revenue-sharing.

If not for the Lakers' cable deal with Time Warner, the deals with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash might not have happened. Likewise, such acquisitions only fuel more content and interest in the cable program.

"It's tradition and we deliver on what we promise," Buss said on the organization's ability to strengthen its brand. "That builds faith from our fan base and that builds faith in our business partners. It's also from the players' point of view. Not only are we able to make trades and have a general manager like Mitch Kupchak, who's not afraid to pull a trigger. That attracts free agents that want to come here because of the positive nature associated with the Lakers. I can't be more proud of that. We'll continue to do that."

**key2win** · 10-07-2012, 04:31 PM

Lakers games become can't-watch-TV - latimes.com

Probably over 3 million + Lakers fans are going to miss the first preseason game tonight. This sucks.

Lakers games become can't-watch-TV

Time Warner Cable, the team's new $3-billion TV partner, hasn't been able to convince other providers to carry the games because of cost. It's another example of how ugly the sports TV business can be.

The Lakers' first exhibition game is on television Sunday night, but not on my television, and probably not on your television.

This is not rumor. This is not urban legend. This is not some glitch. This is real.

As of now, the majority of the games played this season by the new-look, buzz-soaring, championship-or-bust Lakers will not be seen in the majority of Los Angeles households.

Odds are, you didn't know this. Chances are, you wouldn't discover it until you turned on your TV to watch Steve Nash's Lakers debut against the Golden State Warriors in Fresno on Sunday at 7 p.m. Just a guess, but you're going to wear out your thumb trying to scroll to a channel that isn't there, and then yank at your roots trying to figure out how this could happen.

Welcome to just another chapter in the ugly world of sports television business. The rich team and rich broadcast partner battle with the rich TV provider over the possession of fans who are wailing from the basement with their heads covered and their hands bound.

The Lakers' new $3-billion TV partner, Time Warner Cable, has been unable to convince the area's other giant television providers to run their two channels — SportsNet and Spanish-language Deportes — at an industry-reasonable $3.95 per person. Those other providers include DirecTV, Charter, Dish, Cox, Verizon and AT&T's U-verse, all outfits who are holding out for a better deal while their viewers will be the ones who pay.

Some say the providers are afraid to pay a fee that might be doubled when the Dodgers show up at their door next year with their own new TV network. Other says they have been empowered by their success in saving money by not showing the Pac-12 Networks, as if college football is even in the same league here as the Lakers, which it's not.

Whatever, it's so nutty, as of now, even the Lakers can't watch the Lakers. The television provider for their El Segundo headquarters building is DirecTV.

Wait, it gets worse. When their executive vice president for business operations, Jeanie Buss, goes home, she still can't watch the Lakers, shut out by a deal she helped negotiate.

"I've been a DirecTV customer for years, so I understand what everyone is going through," Buss said. "The providers have to decide whether they want to take our channel, and it's the customers who have to be vocal in letting their provider know they want it."

She wants vocal? Consider this column my scream. I've also been a DirecTV customer for years. It was sold to me as the cornerstone for sports channels. Turning on DirecTV and not finding the Lakers is like walking into a yogurt shop to discover it only sells ice cream. For them to waste this much time haggling over the hottest sports property among their 1.7 million Los Angeles households is insulting.

Do I think a deal will get done in time for the first Lakers regular-season cable telecast Oct. 31? Yes. Absolutely. Even though their operators act like dolts when I call about a reception problem ("Sir, unplug your DVR and plug it back in. Do it again. Do it again. If it still doesn't work, please cut down all your trees."), DirecTV is not stupid, and they will add Time Warner Cable at the last minute and, the other carriers will fall in line.

But I will scream nonethless for fans unfairly caught in the middle of a business game of chicken that will at least cause them to miss three weeks of one of the team's most compelling exhibition seasons ever. Many of these fans have already logged on to I Want My Lakers | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS to voice their concern and figure out their options.

"Honestly, this is not uncommon, talks like these take a little bit of time," said cable-war veteran Mark Shuken, senior vice president and general manager of Time Warner Cable Sports regional networks. "What is uncommon is the interest, the chatter, the noise, the demand for the network. I've never seen anything like it before."

I don't blame the Lakers for working out the sort of TV deal that helps them pay great players like Dwight Howard. I don't blame Time Warner Cable for trying to recoup some of its huge investment. And, really, it's hard to blame the providers for trying to keep our rates low.

But if there's nobody to blame, then why do I want to blame everyone?

"The Lakers are important to L.A. fans, who can rest assured DirecTV is very engaged with Time Warner Cable on how to best make the new Time Warner Cable SportsNet available in all our local customers homes," promised Robert Mercer, DirecTV spokesman.

Yet, when the Lakers don't show up in those homes Sunday, it will be just another reminder of the insignificance of those fans to the barons who run the TV networks to which they are so addicted.

"When you love a sports team, having them on TV is like having them come to your house 100 nights a year, they're like family coming over to visit," said Julie Brennan, retired Laguna Woods businesswoman who has been vocally protesting this shutout. "And now they're not?"

In some corners, it's crazy enough that the Lakers television appearances are being peddled like street corner drugs. I was in a Best Buy store Saturday when a DirecTV salesman sidled up to me and asked if I was a DirecTV customer. I told him I was, and promptly complained about the Lakers.

"No problem," said the salesman, who gave me a brochure that listed his name as Brandon Downs. "Just call the DirecTV main number, starting in the middle of the month, if you pay $4 a month you can watch the Lakers, it's the only place outside of Time Warner that you can do it."

I couldn't believe I had not heard of this. I couldn't believe that Time Warner Cable would allow its product to be sold on a tier system. I called DirecTV about their salesman and his offer. Their spokesman said it was "silly" and completely false.

As one of millions of Southland sports fans held hostage by TV executives, I don't know what is real anymore. I only know that, to them, we aren't.

**key2win** · 10-15-2012, 11:05 PM

Lakers: TV deadlock brings creativity

By JEFF MILLER; 2012-10-15 00:02:00

It's a different team now, bolstered by a big-time, big-money addition and adjusting to significant change.

So, it will take some time to sort out things and quiet the confusion concerning the Lakers.

And that's just with their new television package.

Here's how chaotic the team's switch to Time Warner Cable is at the moment:

Even the Lakers' coach isn't sure if his family can get the games in their Anaheim Hills home.

"We're still a little unclear on that," Mike Brown says. "I'd like my wife and kids to be able to see me coach, you know? How's that whole thing working, anyway?"

The short answer, Coach, not well. Not well at all, so far.

Time Warner, the Lakers' new $3 billion TV partner, is locked in negotiations with other area providers – including DirecTV, Charter, Dish, Cox, Verizon and AT&T U-verse – to pick up its two new Laker-centric channels, SportsNet and Deportes.

The asking price is reported to be $3.95 per subscriber per month. The providers, however, are holding out for a better deal in hopes of keeping rates low for customers.

This is still just the preseason – the Lakers play Utah on Tuesday night at Honda Center – but fans who can't find their team on their TV are, in some cases, a bit uneasy and, in other cases, flat ornery.

During the Lakers exhibition Saturday at Staples Center, fans booed every time a Time Warner commercial was shown inside the arena.

Interest in the team, never lacking, is especially high this fall, the Lakers having added all-stars Dwight Howard and Steve Nash and a mountain of expectations.

One local media outlet called this "one of the team's most compelling exhibition seasons ever." While this is sort of like being designated "the most meaningful of the meaningless," it is true.

With the start of the regular season only two weeks away, a situation that is nagging to many could blossom into the full-blown unrest of Laker Nation. And this is a nation that swells with passion.

"It is such a shame that such an exciting time for the Lakers and their fans can only be selectively enjoyed," said Erika Gula of Walnut. "How can you follow a team that you simply cannot watch? Please help bring Laker peace to my home."

The good news is that it's in the best interest of each party involved to resolve the situation. Even better, the dominant opinion is that things will be cleared up by the opening of the regular season or shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, however, many fans either are helplessly shut out or forced to explore creative ways to get their Lakers.

"I had to do something," says Behrod Ganjifard, owner of OC Sports Grill, which is near Angel Stadium. "I need the Lakers games. We're a Lakers bar and we can't show the games? We might as well shut the doors and close down."

Located in an area that doesn't offer Time Warner, Ganjifard did what everyone does now when looking for answers. He went to his computer and Googled it.

There he figured out he could subscribe to Time Warner at his home, invest in a Slingbox and show the Lakers games at OC Sports Grill through his laptop. Hey, the guy does have a degree in computer science from Cal Poly Pomona.

He estimates the Lakers bring in 30 to 40 percent of his business and more than 50 percent when they make a deep playoff run. The last time the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals, in 2010, Ganjifard's place regularly reached capacity on game nights.

So, for him, it was worth spending $200 on a Slingbox and an extra $50 for overnight shipping and boosting his home's Internet connection and turning off OC Sports Grill's WiFi service to conserve bandwidth.

"I want to pay for the service," he says. "I'd be glad to. That's not the issue. The problem is they won't deliver to us. So this is a necessary risk. It's like when your wife's having a baby and you speed going to the hospital. It's a chance you have to take."

Yes, until this deadlock is broken, these will be strange times for many Lakers viewers. The team's telecasts, for example, aren't even available to the team itself. The Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo has DirecTV.

So, when the team he built opened the preseason with a game in Fresno last week, general manager Mitch Kupchak was forced to go to Time Warner's studios to see it.

Similarly, Brown is a DirecTV customer. But he also has Time Warner service in the bedrooms of his sons, Cameron and Elijah. For that Fresno game, unable to locate the telecast on DirecTV, the boys watched on the family computer.

They were unaware that, in another part of the house, the telecast actually was available.

**key2win** · 10-24-2012, 09:20 PM

Still no good news and in 1 week everyone is going to miss Lakers Game 2. But at least I can see tonight's exhibition game against the Clippers on Fox Sports West.

**key2win** · 10-26-2012, 11:55 PM

Ok Cox Communications and Direct TV, the ball is now in your court. Hurry the heck up!!!

Charter and Time Warner Cable Sports have reached an agreement to distribute Time Warner SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes in communities Charter serves in Southern California. These networks are the local TV homes for Los Angeles Lakers, LA Galaxy and Los Angeles Sparks games, as well as in-depth, dedicated, team-focused programming.

Charter is making technical preparations, targeting launch on or before October 31, the date for the first regular-season Lakers telecast on the new networks. Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes will be available in Southern California communities served by Charter in both Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) to customers. Time Warner Cable SportsNet will be available in SD on channel 215 and in HD on channel 787; and Time Warner Cable Deportes will be available on SD channel 216 and HD channel 788. Charter customers can call 1-855-85-SWITCH (1-855-857-9482) for more information.

“Charter is committed to bring programming to our customers that mirror their interests,” said Allan Singer, Charter’s Senior Vice President of Programming. “We are proud of Charter’s robust selection of sports programming. Charter is the first provider of this brand new programming in our service areas, and we know that the addition of these networks especially pleases our customers in Southern California.”

“Southern California sports are important to our partners at Charter and we’re excited to work with them to bring Lakers, Galaxy and Sparks games and programming to their customers and our viewers,” said Dan Finnerty, Senior Vice President, Time Warner Cable Sports. “Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes will help bring Charter customers closer to their teams than they have ever been before.”

Verizon Fios has reached an agreement to distribute @TWCSportsNet and @TWCDeportes. Details coming in the next few days.

**key2win** · 10-27-2012, 05:22 PM

The big guns in Direct TV, Dish, and mainly Cox Cable need to be next now.

Time Warner Cable SportsNet will be available for U-verse TV customers in Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego, Bakersfield and much of Fresno) with the U100 package and above on channel 1777 in HD and channel 777 in SD. Time Warner Cable Deportes will be available in the U300 package or U-Latino package on channel 1778 in HD and channel 778 in SD.

**key2win** · 10-31-2012, 09:45 PM

Argh still nothing. Game is blacked out on NBA TV. Stupid Cox Cable and Direct TV. Now I am stuck watching the Clippers instead. LOL!

**JesRey** · 11-01-2012, 01:35 AM

I have U-Verse, glad I got it in time but it's also a blessing that Direct TV people dont have to watch this crappy play right now.

**key2win** · 11-05-2012, 01:36 AM

It only took 1 win for this to happen. LOL! Just got back from gym an hour ago and my friend texted me the good news. It is official. Thank goodness. Direct TV and Dish Net are all that remains.

Cox picks up Lakers network | network, picks, shouldn - The Orange County Register

If you have cable, you shouldn’t miss any more Lakers games.
Cox Communications agreed to terms with Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes on Sunday, becoming the final major cable operator in the Los Angeles market to pick up the Lakers’ new networks.

Cox accounts for about 5 percent of the L.A. market, which includes Orange County. TWC SportsNet is now available in about 61 percent of the market.

Satellite providers DirecTV and DISH Network make up most of the outstanding 39 percent. They remained holdouts as of Sunday night.

Cox, which is available in several Orange County cities, is expected to have TWC SportsNet up and running by Wednesday’s Lakers-Jazz game. Channel assignments are to be announced.

TWC SportsNet has exclusive rights to 55 of the Lakers’ 78 remaining regular-season games, including the next 11.

**key2win** · 11-16-2012, 05:03 AM

Dish is the only one left now.

Time Warner Cable agrees to deal with DirecTV to broadcast Lakers games. Details coming soon.

Announcement

TWC Sportsnet Lakers Network - Cox, Charter, Verizon, AT&T, & Direct TV Signs On

TWC Sportsnet Lakers Network - Cox, Charter, Verizon, AT&T, & Direct TV Signs On

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