Time Warner Cable SportsNet yesterday announced its studio programming beginning with its Oct. 1 launch. “Access SportsNet” is the RSN’s daily studio show and will feature branded pre- and post-game shows for the Lakers and MLS Galaxy. There also will be a daily live social media-driven show called “#LakeShow.” The lineup for the net’s Spanish-language station, Time Warner Cable Deportes, will include “Lakers En Vivo,” a live, one-hour pregame show; “Somos Lakers,” the postgame wrap-up show; “Somos Lakers Éne-Bé-A,” which airs on non-game days; “Lakers Compactos,” which will consist of Lakers games condensed into a one-hour format; and “Partidos Memorables: Lakers,” classic Lakers games accompanied by Spanish commentary (TWC SportsNet).
LAUNCHING PAD: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s George Szalai noted TWC President & COO Rob Marcus “touted the upcoming launch of the company's new sports network in LA with LA Lakers games in about two weeks.” Marcus said expectations are at a "fever pitch." He added, "We feel pretty confident that we have a good deal here." Marcus said sports rights fees minus the carriage fee and advertising revenue "should get the company to a financial model that is stronger than ‘the amount we would have paid for a third-party network.’” Marcus argued that if that is not the case, the company will still hold an “advantage over other TV distributors” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/19). Marcus said that if distributors do not sign up to carry TWC's L.A. RSNs when they launch Oct. 1, that will "just give the MSO a competitive advantage.” Marcus said that if multichannel video programming distributors “do take the net, TWC expects to come out ahead of how much it would have spent on 3rd party rights to the Lakers and Galaxy.” Marcus: “If you add to all that financial analysis the value of associating with what I think is the best brand in the L.A. market ... the impact that it has on the image and brand of Time Warner Cable is just the icing on the cake” (CABLEFAX DAILY, 9/20). When asked whether L.A. can support five RSNs, TWC Sports Regional Networks Senior VP & GM Mark Shuken said, “That’s going to be up to the distributors and their fans. … It’s a question not so much of is there space for a certain number of regional sports networks, but in the overall economics of pay television: Where do you invest and what’s primary to that customer?” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/17 issue).
