Los Angeles Dodgers fans in the greater LA market now have the ability to watch the team’s games without a cable subscription.
However, they’ll still have to pay Spectrum.
This week, Spectrum announced that customers on their Spectrum One plan, which includes internet and a mobile line, can stream Dodgers games on SportsNet LA. The plan costs $49.99 per month, meaning it’s not all that financially feasible if you already have an internet and/or mobile provider and don’t want to switch.
No other direct-to-consumer (DTC) offering is available for SportsNet LA and the Dodgers this season. The Los Angeles Lakers and Spectrum, in partnership with the NBA, launched a DTC service called Spectrum SportsNet+ in October, allowing in-market fans to stream Lakers games for $19.99 per month.
Per the LA Times, the differences in the DTC models offerings for the Lakers and Dodgers were by design for several reasons, including whether or not a pure DTC model was more attractive than a bundle.
The SportsNet LA streaming agreement covers only the 2024 season. A single streaming subscription that combined the Dodgers and Lakers could have been complicated by the different ownership structures and distribution deals of the Dodgers and Lakers channels, but Spectrum also gets a real-life test to see whether fans might respond more favorably to a streaming-only option or a broadband-telephone-streaming bundle.
“In the evolving TV landscape, we are examining different approaches to making our regional sports networks available to fans while maximizing value for our customers,” Spectrum spokesman Bret Picciolo said.
SportsNet LA has had several carriage issues since its launch ten years ago. It took until 2020 for the network to be available on DirecTV, and it still isn’t available on Cox or the notoriously RSN-free Dish.
In the Southern California market, the Los Angeles Angels are the only team without some sort of DTC option. MLB has produced and distributed Padres games since last May, while the Clippers, Ducks, and Kings can be watched via Bally Sports+.
[Spectrum]
