The prospects for expanded carriage of Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA and Dodgers games "were as murky as ever" on Friday, when the Comcast-TWC merger was "officially pronounced dead," according to James & Faughnder of the L.A. TIMES. TWC Chair & CEO Robert Marcus on Friday said that he "would like to resume talks with other providers." Marcus: "We haven't had much luck getting any of the major distributors to the negotiating table so that we can have productive conversations." James & Faughnder note resolution is "out of reach as long as pay-TV operators that also include Verizon FiOS, AT&T and Cox Communications continue to bristle at the cost of the channel." Absent such a deal, Marcus "might give in and work out agreements with pay-TV operators by lowering the cost" of the RSN. TWC "is losing well over" $100M a year on the net. Marcus "would not say" whether TWC "would soon drop the price of the channel." Another possibility is if TWC "strikes a deal to air some of the games on a local television station" such as KDOC-TV (L.A. TIMES, 4/25). Meanwhile, in L.A., Faughnder offered five questions surrounding the collapse of the Comcast/TWC deal (L.A. TIMES, 4/25). BLOOMBERG's Sherman, Smith & Hammond cited sources as saying that advisers for Charter Communications "have reached out" to TWC to "begin friendly talks on an acquisition." Charter's goal is to buy TWC "quickly," although execs at the companies "haven't spoken yet." A source said that Charter "has approached banks about financing." Talks are "at an early stage and haven't yet addressed price or structure" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/25).
A TRUE DODGER: In L.A., David Pierson wrote under the header, "Dodgers Fans Find Ways Around Local Blackouts." Dodgers fans "are subscribing to virtual private networks, or VPNs, which are Internet services that enable them to sidestep local blackouts of Dodgers games on MLB.TV." Pasadena resident John Franks' VPN "routes his MLB.TV sign-on to computer servers in Mexico, outside the Dodgers' exclusive broadcasting zone," allowing him to "masquerade as an out-of-region viewer and access local games through his MLB.TV subscription." He "pays about $25 a month for the online games and the VPN," though the practice "violates MLB.TV's terms and conditions." MLB President of Business & Media Bob Bowman said that the league "did not take the circumvention technology lightly." Bowman: "It's not a victimless crime. It seems innocent, but it's really not. It's a big ecosystem where everyone has to do his or her share." Still, he "doesn't think VPNs are necessarily on the rise" (L.A. TIMES, 4/26).
