SportsNet LA

About SportsNet LA

Overview

SportsNet LA, branded on air as Spectrum SportsNet LA, is an American regional sports network dedicated exclusively to the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Owned by Charter Communications through its Spectrum Networks division, the network was created as part of a record-breaking 25-year, $8.35 billion broadcast agreement between the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable, and it launched on February 25, 2014. The 24-hour channel was built to provide exclusive, around-the-clock coverage of the Dodgers, with live game telecasts, news programs and documentary-style shows. While the channel is not directly branded with the Dodgers' name, its logo incorporates the team's interlocking "LA" insignia. SportsNet LA became the exclusive local carrier of Dodgers games starting with the 2014 season, ending the team's long-standing broadcast partnerships with Fox Sports West's Prime Ticket channel and with KCAL-TV, the team's over-the-air television outlet since 2006. Its headquarters are in El Segundo, California.

The Record $8.35 Billion Dodgers Deal

The network was born out of one of the largest local television deals in sports history. In late 2012, Fox Sports' exclusive negotiating period for a new Dodgers broadcast deal ended, and the team was reported to be negotiating with other potential broadcasters, including the recently established Time Warner Cable SportsNet, while also contemplating forming an in-house network. On January 22, 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported that Time Warner Cable had signed a deal to partner with the Dodgers to form a new regional sports network that would be majority-owned by the team. On January 28, 2013, the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable signed a 25-year broadcast agreement valued at $8.35 billion, subject to the approval of Major League Baseball, which would see the establishment of a new channel known as SportsNet LA. Time Warner Cable's winning bid exceeded Fox's bid by $2 billion and was worth $210 million for the inaugural 2014 season, or about $1.5 million per game, more than four times the combined revenues from Prime Ticket and KCAL-TV.

Launch and Early Programming

Following the approval of the Dodgers' television deal, the team announced on January 16, 2014, that SportsNet LA would launch on February 25, the eve of spring training, and that all of the Dodgers' spring training games would be televised by the new channel. The network came to fruition as a 24-hour channel created to provide exclusive and unrivaled coverage of the Dodgers with games, news programs and documentary-style shows. Team president Stan Kasten described SportsNet LA as a "Dodger-only channel with Dodger-only content 24/7." The initial program lineup included live game coverage, a nightly Dodgers news program and original documentary series focusing on the team's players, history and farm system. At least 75 games broadcast by the channel in the 2014 season were simulcast in Spanish, and the channel planned to televise all of its games in Spanish in the future. The agreement increased the number of games aired: nearly 100 games were carried in 2014 compared with the 49 games aired by Prime Ticket in 2013.

The Charter Acquisition

In June 2015, Charter Communications added SportsNet LA to its own channel offerings, and in May 2016 Charter completed its purchase of Time Warner Cable. The Dodgers' exclusive network then became formally known as Spectrum SportsNet LA, operating as a sister network to Spectrum SportsNet, the Lakers' regional sports channel also owned by Charter. The combined Spectrum Networks portfolio in Los Angeles thus carried the exclusive local rights to both of the city's most storied franchises, the Lakers and the Dodgers, under separate channels and separate rights agreements. Charter's ownership gave the Dodgers network the backing of one of the largest cable operators in the country, though the carriage disputes that had defined the channel's early years persisted under the new ownership.

The Carriage Blackout Saga

From its launch, SportsNet LA was one of the most widely publicized carriage disputes in the history of regional sports television. At launch, the network was only available in about 30% of the homes in the Los Angeles market, effectively blacked out for DirecTV customers and subscribers of other major providers. The pay-TV providers resisted offering SportsNet LA as part of a basic package, a common practice, and instead preferred an a la carte option, while disputes centered on the cost of the channel and the requirement that it be carried alongside other mainstream premium channels rather than in a separate sports tier. In April 2016, Congresswoman Janice Hahn of California's 44th district wrote letters to Time Warner Cable and AT&T requesting a joint meeting in an effort to find a resolution, which DirecTV rejected. In November 2016, the United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit against AT&T-DirecTV, alleging that they were the ringleaders in colluding against Spectrum and the distribution of SportsNet LA. AT&T reached a settlement with the Justice Department in March 2017 that did not include a mandate to carry the network. A breakthrough came on April 1, 2020, when Spectrum Networks announced a carriage agreement with AT&T and its subsidiaries, including DirecTV, AT&T TV, U-verse TV and AT&T TV NOW, for customers in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii.

Simulcasts and Expanded Access

As the blackout dragged on through the 2010s, the network regularly began simulcasting several games on KTLA 5, the Los Angeles CW affiliate, each season, giving fans without access to the channel a chance to watch selected Dodgers games over the air. Because the San Diego Padres hold territorial rights for all of San Diego County, Dodgers games are blacked out in the county on SportsNet LA regardless of the cable or satellite provider, requiring a subscription to the MLB Extra Innings out-of-market sports package to view those telecasts. In 2025, SportsNet LA launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service through MLB.com, allowing in-market fans to stream Dodgers games without a cable subscription. In March 2026, FuboTV added SportsNet LA, becoming the latest streaming provider to carry the channel. Perhaps the most significant development came in August 2026, when Cox Communications added SportsNet LA for its subscribers following Charter's $34.5 billion merger with Cox, which was completed the day before carriage began on August 21. After more than a decade, the network finally reached Cox customers in Las Vegas, Orange County, Palos Verdes and Santa Barbara, though on the higher-tier Contour TV Preferred and Contour TV Ultimate plans.

Spanish-Language Coverage

Spanish-language coverage has been part of SportsNet LA's identity from the beginning. At least 75 games in the inaugural 2014 season were simulcast in Spanish, and the channel has continued to provide Spanish-language audio for its Dodgers telecasts. The network's commitment to bilingual coverage reflects the Dodgers' enormous Latino fan base in Southern California and the team's long tradition of Spanish-language broadcasting, dating back to the legendary Jaime Jarrín. The sister network Spectrum SportsNet launched with a dedicated Spanish-language companion channel, Time Warner Cable Deportes, the first Spanish-language regional sports network in the United States, which was shut down in August 2018; SportsNet LA has continued its own Spanish-language game coverage within the main channel's programming.

Original Programming

Beyond live games, SportsNet LA produces a full slate of Dodgers-centered original programming. The network's daily schedule includes Dodgers news and analysis programs, pregame and postgame shows, and documentary-style series that profile current players, franchise legends and the team's minor-league system. The channel's programming has chronicled the Dodgers' most successful modern era, including the team's World Series championships and the careers of stars who have defined the franchise in the 2010s and 2020s. Spring training coverage from the team's Arizona camp opens the broadcast calendar each February, and the network provides wall-to-wall coverage of the regular season and postseason runs, with special programming around marquee moments in franchise history.

Carriage Today and How to Watch

Today, SportsNet LA is available to Spectrum cable subscribers throughout its Southern California footprint, as well as on DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-verse, FuboTV and Cox Communications following the 2026 merger. Dodgers games continue to be blacked out in San Diego County on the channel due to Padres territorial rights. In-market fans can also stream the network's Dodgers coverage through the direct-to-consumer service offered via MLB.com, which launched in 2025. The network remains the exclusive local television home of the Los Angeles Dodgers through 2039 under the terms of the original 25-year agreement. For channel information, streaming options and the latest broadcast schedule, visit the official website at spectrum.com.