TWC yesterday said that it had "cut by 30% the price" of SportsNet LA with the hope of "spurring long-stalled negotiations over carriage of the channel before the new season begins April 4," according to Meg James of the L.A. TIMES. The move "could provide a hoped-for breakthrough in the bitter dispute that has prevented thousands of Dodgers fans from watching their favorite team on TV for the last two seasons." TWC Senior Dir of Sports & News PR Andrew Fegyveresi said, "We owe it to Dodger fans to try to get a deal done, especially because of the historic nature of this year with it being (baseball announcer) Vin Scully's final season." James notes TWC has "lost well over" $100M a year since '14 due to the channel's "limited distribution." The company is "motivated to try to bring in fees from other pay-TV providers to mitigate its losses." SNL Kagan data showed that the channel "had been offered for about $4.90 per month per subscriber home." Sources said that TWC as part of the new proposal has "offered the channel to other providers at a cost of about $3.50 per month per subscriber home." The lower rate would "bring the cost of SportsNet LA more in line with the industry average" for RSNs. SNL Kagan data stated that the Dodgers channel until now was the "second-most-expensive regional sports channel," behind YES Network. The move "marks the first time that Time Warner Cable has slashed the price of the channel to try to entice other pay-TV providers to come back to the bargaining table." The proposal "would be a one-year deal covering the upcoming season" (L.A. TIMES, 3/23).
