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Time Warner Cable Sports to Tip Off Lakers-Centric RSNs on Oct. 1
It will be interesting to see what type of carriage issues arise with these new sports channels. Here is an excerpt from the article found in the link below:
It's official now: Time Warner Cable will tip off its two regional sports networks, centering on the Los Angeles Lakers, on Oct. 1.
The largest MSO in Los Angeles will bow Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Spanish-language RSN Time Warner Cable Deportes, which will have its own production team and programming sensibilities, shortly before the National Basketball Association begins its 2012-13 season, according to Time Warner Cable Sports president David Rone.
Rone, in an interview, said Time Warner Cable counts some 2 million customers in the RSNs' territory that extends from "Fresno to the north, the Mexican border to the south, east to Palm Springs and Las Vegas, and Hawaii to the west." All told, those areas encompass some 6 million TV homes.
Rone said that he, senior vice president and general manager of Time Warner Cable Sports Regional Networks Mark Shuken and Dan Finnerty, the senior vice president of Time Warner Cable Sports, who heads affiliate sales, recently began discussions with potential distributors.
"We have not had many of them, they literally began last week. In between now and the NCTA Cable Show [which starts May 21 in Boston}, we will have gotten in front of all of the MVPDs that we need to speak to. I'm stressing MVPDs because we're speaking to MSOs, satellite companies and telcos."
Rone would not discuss pricing. Published reports have placed the ask at $3.50 per subscriber for the pair of networks. For his part, ISI Group analyst Vijay Jayant pegs the price at $2.50 per month per subscriber.
A former executive at Fox Sports, CAA and Evolution Media Capital, Rone did say Time Warner Cable Sports' distribution game plan calls for equal footing for the services.
AmishGuy91
Scholar
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187 Messages
12 years ago
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oufanindallas
ACE - Master
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6.9K Messages
12 years ago
Just because you like the lakers, not everyone is a Lakers fan, NBA fan or even a sports fan. I could ask my wife who the Lakers are and she couldn't tell you. My sister, sister-in-law, father-in-law, my mother couldn't tell you who the Lakers are or even what sport they play in. The Lakers aren't the be-all-end-all.
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MicCheck
ACE - Expert
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14.2K Messages
12 years ago
But they have to gain enough subscribers to make up for additional costs. They have to have the resources to add the subscribers (it doesn't do any good to get 100,000 orders for service when you have 70,000 DVRs available.
There are a lot of factors involved, so it's not quite as simple as you make it.
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texasguy37
Expert
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14.5K Messages
12 years ago
Here is another intferesting article on about the new RSN:
http://laist.com/2012/10/10/time_warner_and_lakers_a_marriage_m.php
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nyreed
Contributor
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1 Message
12 years ago
Simply put ATT U-verse and Time Warner Cable need to find some sort of common ground and get Laker fans in LA our Lakers. I am an ATT u-verse subsriber who is not in the market for TWC, my choices are charter direct tv or ATT uverse.
I will glad trade many channels such as the home shopping network, Chicago cubs various view channels, and the Texas longhorn channel and the newly acquired Fox Sport San Diego to watch the Lakers which is my home team.
Both TWC and ATT uverse need to get their act together. In Closing WE WANT OUR LAKERS!!!
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oufanindallas
ACE - Master
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6.9K Messages
12 years ago
The only thing wrong with that statement, you want those channels since they PAY to be broadcast. The more shopping channels the better, just hide them.
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jstchilln120
Voyager
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2 Messages
12 years ago
But the lack of communication and information being delivered to us, the existing customers, is ridiculous. I have made it very clear to AT&T that if the TWC is not on my screen by October 31st (and I will pay the freaking $4.99/subscriber fee myself if I have to), I will switch to whichever provider caves in to TWC's demands.
It's ridiculous that those of us in Los Angeles may not be able to see our home team's games. We live in an area that does not have TWC coverage. That means I can't even go to a bar in my neighborhood to watch a game!
Yes I understand that it's just sports and that I probably take this too seriously, but all I want is to watch my freaking games and AT&T will lose me as a customer if they don't figure out a way to make this work for everyone.
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oufanindallas
ACE - Master
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6.9K Messages
12 years ago
Then the only provider you will be able to switch to is Time Warner Cable. Currenly NO other providers have added this channel. As for negotiations, AT&T does not provide updates, but then again, neither do the other providers. Enjoy your TWC.
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jstchilln120
Voyager
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2 Messages
12 years ago
As I had mentioned earlier, TWC does not provide service where I live. So unfortunately I have to cross my fingers and hope that AT&T or any other provider in my neighborhood works out a deal.
Hopefully AT&T realizes how big of an issue this is locally/regionally and sees that they will lose subscribers if they don't get this worked out. It may not be a huge number they care about, but there will be a few that drop if another provider gets this channel (aside from the ones that jump to TWC).
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oufanindallas
ACE - Master
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6.9K Messages
12 years ago
So basically if AT&T does not have TWC's channel on the air by Oct. 31st you have no where to switch that is carrying the channel?
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