Charter Communications, the company that runs the SportsNet channels for the Dodgers and Lakers, is cutting back programming on those channels.
Live coverage of the Dodgers and Lakers games is not expected to be affected. Instead, Charter is canceling “Behind the Sport” and reducing new episodes of “Backstage: Dodgers” and “Backstage: Lakers” to one per month, according to company spokeswoman Maureen Huff.
The Dodgers and Lakers are among many teams to launch channels so fans could get 24/7 access to their favorite team. However, viewership data in Los Angeles and elsewhere has shown that most fans are primarily interested in watching the game.
Huff said “a few positions” have been eliminated.
“These programming adjustments are routine and do not signal any broader operational changes,” Huff said.
The changes come amid turmoil in the regional sports network industry. As consumers increasingly abandon cable and satellite broadcasts in favor of streaming, broadcast rights deals that pay teams based on an economic model of subscribers paying for an RSN whether they watch it have become outdated and often unprofitable.
The Bally Sports channels have been in bankruptcy court for 19 months. Warner Bros. Discovery last year dumped its four regional sports networks.
Charter runs no other RSN besides the SportsNet channels, which it inherited when it bought Time Warner Cable in 2016.
As a profitable company that generated $55 billion in revenue last year by providing broadband, cable, streaming and telephone services, Charter could not escape its $8.35-billion contract with the Dodgers or its $3-billion contract with the Lakers by filing for bankruptcy.
Lon Rosen, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said Dodgers fans should not be concerned about SportsNet LA, which Charter markets under the Spectrum brand.
“We continue to have a good working relationship with Spectrum,” Rosen said.
The Dodgers own SportsNet LA. However, Charter owns SportsNet and has registered it as a separate entity, so in theory Charter could essentially tell the Lakers what Bally Sports has told the Angels: Renegotiate at a discount, or risk SportsNet filing for bankruptcy, which could mean even less money for the team in a streaming-first future.
“Nothing like that has occurred,” said Tim Harris, the Lakers’ president of business operations. “Spectrum is an amazing partner and we look forward to working with them for years to come.”
