Spectrum is finally offering a streaming-only subscription for Dodgers
For the first time this season, Dodgers fans can stream SportsNet LA without needing to buy something else they might not want.
Spectrum is offering a streaming-only subscription to the Dodgers' television channel for $29.99 per month or $199.99 per year, the company is expected to announce Monday. The service will be in place when the Dodgers open their season Tuesday in Japan (3 a.m. PDT).
The streaming service will be called SNLA+ and will be offered in partnership with Major League Baseball, which will provide the technology and carry the service on MLB.com and the MLB app. SNLA+ subscriptions are only available in the Dodgers' local television market.
The streaming subscription includes live and archived games; pregame, postgame, postseason and offseason coverage; and additional programs such as 'Backstage Dodgers,' although SportsNet LA cut back on such programming last year.
For years, Charter Communications — the parent company of Spectrum — had resisted streaming. Charter had long considered exclusivity as the key to minimizing its losses in the record $8.35-billion local broadcasting contract with the Dodgers, inherited in its 2016 takeover of Time Warner Cable. So, if you wanted to watch the Dodgers, the only way to do so was to buy a Spectrum television bundle that included SportsNet LA.
However, as cable and satellite audiences shrink and streaming audiences expand, Charter opted to pursue incremental income. In 2024, Charter provided SportsNet LA streaming for fans that bought broadband and cellphone service from Spectrum.
That option remains for this season, and Charter plans to evaluate all its SportsNet LA options after the season. Fans also continue to get free streaming with any Spectrum television bundle that includes SportsNet LA.
The $29.99 monthly price ranks at the high end for streaming subscriptions among MLB teams. NESN offers a $29.99 monthly subscription; the channel carries the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins. YES offers a $24.99 monthly subscription; the channel carries the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets. FanDuel Sports West, formerly Bally Sports West, offers the Angels and Kings for a $19.99 monthly rate.
Sports Net LA carries only the Dodgers. MLB runs streams for three of the Dodgers' National League West rivals — the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies — and offers each at $19.99 per month.
According to the league, 23 of its 30 teams have announced streaming subscriptions this season. Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes to package the streaming rights of as many teams as possible and sell them to a high bidder in 2028. The pitch to fans: Watch your team wherever you are, with none of the blackouts designed to protect cable and satellite providers.
In theory, that would generate increased national broadcast revenue that teams could split equally. In reality, Manfred would have to persuade the owners of marquee teams such as the Dodgers and Yankees to assign their streaming rights to the league for what might be less money than they make now, perhaps by providing unrelated financial incentives or opportunities.
The Dodgers did not assign their streaming rights to MLB as part of the SNLA+ deal, according to a person briefed on the deal but not authorized to comment publicly.
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