No Fooling: AT&T Finally Connects on Dodgers Network Carriage Deal

ATampampT on April 1 reached a carriage deal for Spectrum SportsNetamp160LA the Dodgers channel amp160An agreement was reached after missing six seasons of largely topflight work from ace Clayton Kershaw the 2016 rookie of the year campaign of Corey Seager and the MVP feats of Cody Bellinger last year amp160ATampampT finally inked an affiliate pact after passing on the network since its debut in 2014 a period resulting in six consecutive Dodgersamp8217 postseason appearances including two failed trips to the World Seriesamp160 Perhaps only one if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred did the right thing and made the signstealing Houston Astros vacate the 2017 titleamp160amp160Adding to the Foolamp8217s Day feel there isnamp8217t any Dodgers baseball at the momentThe Coronavirus pandemic like it has for so many sports has forced leagues to suspend play amp160In the case of MLB it has yet to throw the first pitch on its 2020 campaign which had been slated to open March 26 with the Dodgers hosting their former New York City rivals the San Francisco GiantsBut it is another Opening Day and trades which have always been part of baseballamp8217s charm are likely at the heart of this carriage taleThe launch of HBO Max the late entry by ATampampTamp8217s WarnerMedia the former teams singularly known at Turner Broadcasting HBO and Warner Bros before the telcoamp8217s 85 billion purchase of Time Warner in 2018 into the broadscale streaming wars is nighThis being ATampampT HBO Maxamp8217s debut date in May has yet to be declared unlike the forthcoming April 15 soft launch of sorts of Peacock NBCUniversalamp8217s adsupported streaming offering which will become available on parent Comcastamp8217 systems on Tax DayATampampT leadership in particular COO John Stankey the heir apparent to Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson is looking to legacy distributors to help sell the service amp160At 1499 per month itamp8217s the same price as HBO but Max will not only trade on the premium network but also include Turner content and Warner Brosamp8217 vast TV and film library plus originals created to appeal to mom dad and the kidsamp160Charter can provide an assist taking a cut of course by offering HBO Max which is more expensive than Netflix Hulu and Disney to its video and broadband subscribersBut in what figures to be the player to be named later department and in the short term where the real money is one can expect the teams to soon announce that Charter has reached a renewal for Turneramp8217s portfolio of cable networks notably TNT TBS CNN and Cartoon NetworkAccording to a recent research by Craig Moffett analyst at MoffettNathanson Turneramp8217s cable networks tallied 53 of WarnerMediaamp8217s earnings before interest and taxes in 2019 amp160While the cable ratings landscape has been charred by cordcutting and the ascent of the streamers it will be interesting to see whether the value of Turneramp8217s highprofile brands maps outMoffett in the note wrote that Turner has not signed any major carriage pacts since 201415 when it inked deals with Comcast Dish Cox Time Warner Cable and Charter Under an assumption of fiveyear renewal cycles amp8220all of those deals will now be coming up for negotiationamp8221In the Charter dugout license fees from ATampampTamp8217s team will help ease the financial burden with the Dodgers channel amp160The cable giant inherited the 25year 835 billion deal with Guggenheim Baseball Management the Dodgers owner when it bought Time Warner Cable in 2016amp160 Under the pact Charter handles distribution for the regional sports network and looks to make its bones by scoring carriage pacts with other affiliatesThe problem many distributors notably DIRECTV balked at the pricey service which only offers live action seven months of the year if you count spring training amp160That has left many Angelenos on the outside looking in of what has been a very impressive run by the Dodgers on the field amp160While Guggenheim Baseball and the Dodgers have gotten paid Charter has been left to bridge the redink distribution shortcomingsSoon the ATampampT platforms notably streaming vehicle ATampampT TV which the company expects to become its video workhorse as DIRECTV has been bleeding subscribers will be shelling out license fees for the Dodgers networkPresumably having the National Leaguefavorite Dodgers featuring Mookie Betts the former Boston Red Sox stalwart acquired in an offseason trade will help draw many customers to the new streaming platformATampampT TV and ATampampT Now the former DirecTV Now will begin offering Spectrum SportsNet LA and its current lineup of originals studio fare and recent marquee matchups on April 8 amp160DirecTV and Uverse will follow suit when the MLB season begins making the Dodgers games available to those customers in Southern California Las Vegas and HawaiiOf course thatamp8217s if the pandemic allows anyone to play ball amp160Dodgers fans whether on Charteramp8217s Spectrum systems DirecTV Uverse ATampampT TV and ATampampT Now or other distributors may never get to see the star outfielder in regularseason form on Spectrum SportsNet LA amp160Betts can become a free agent after the 2020 seasonClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160 amp160

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No Fooling: AT&T Finally Connects on Dodgers Network Carriage Deal

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