Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten "isn't worried about the distribution prospects" for Time Warner Cable SportsNet L.A., which is set to launch on Feb. 25, according to Joe Flint of the L.A. TIMES. Kasten said, "These things always get worked out." Flint reports TWC is "expected to start pitching it to other area distributors in the coming weeks." The cost to carry the channel is "expected to be $4 to $5 per subscriber per month in the first season with the price going up over the course of the contract." TWC "will probably face pushback from DirecTV and Cox, particularly because both are already paying a similar amount to carry the cable operator's SportsNet channel," which holds rights to Lakers games. Even if TWC "doesn't sign up all the distributors, the Dodgers will still get paid." According to a clause in the TWC deal, the operator is "on the hook to cover the fees from other distributors who don't sign on to carry the channel." This means that if Dish Network does not sign on to carry the channel, TWC "will pay the subscription fees until a deal is reached with the satellite broadcaster." Guggenheim President & Dodgers co-Owner Todd Boehly said that while the Dodgers own the channel, the name "was a Time Warner Cable decision" (L.A. TIMES, 1/16).
