The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to enter more homes in Southern California whenever the baseball season starts. For the first time since launching in 2014, the Dodgers television home Spectrum SportsNet LA reached a deal with AT&T for the network to be carried by DirecTV. In addition to DirecTV, the partnership also allows U-verse TV and AT&T TV NOW customers to receive SportsNet LA.
“This agreement underscores our commitment to provide all Dodgers fans the opportunity to enjoy our award-winning programming and live game coverage,” SVP, Spectrum Networks Dan Finnerty said in the press release. “Working together with AT&T, we were able to reach an agreement to offer the region’s most popular teams to local fans across AT&T’s video platforms.”
Major League Baseball’s 2020 season is currently suspended indefinitely, but the agreement with AT&T still offers positivity for some SoCal Dodger fans who haven’t been able to watch local broadcasts since 2013. In the six years without SportsNet LA being on DirecTV, the Dodgers have won six NL West titles, played in two World Series, and saw their iconic broadcaster Vin Scully retire after 67 seasons with the club.
“As anxious as we all are for the ongoing pandemic to end and for the 2020 season to begin, we now have even more reason to be excited because this agreement will make Dodger baseball games and programming available for our fans on Spectrum, AT&T TV, DIRECTV, U-verse TV, and AT&T TV NOW,” stated Stan Kasten, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I want to thank AT&T and Spectrum Networks for coming together on this agreement. We are eager to get this season started once it is deemed safe to do so everywhere.”
Even with the 2020 MLB season on hold, SportNet LA, like many RSN’s around the country, will continue to use their vault of classic games to keep fans entertained.
In place of last week’s Opening Day telecast, SportsNet LA re-aired the Dodgers 2013 and 2019 openers. Last Saturday, the network also gave fans a rebroadcast of the memorable broadcasts from iconic play-by-play voice Vin Scully including his 2016 appreciation ceremony, his final game at Dodger Stadium and Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
