SportsNet LA Launches But Many Dodger Fans Left in the Dark

The new all Dodgers all the time television network SportsNet LA premiered on Tuesday night, but only Time Warner Cable service subscribers were able to see it. Vin Scully inaugurated the new channel with a beautiful tribute to the Dodgers and ended with his iconic “It’s Time for Dodger Baseball” as the new programming then began afterward.

The first edition of “Access SportsNet: Dodgers” began at after Vinny’s intro at 7 p.m. The new panel of broadcasters include John Hartung, who hosts, Orel Hershiser, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Nomar Garciaparra in studio. Alanna Rizzo will be bringing viewers reports from the field, and she is currently reporting from Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The show featured Dodger news, Dodger history, and special interviews. Special guests on Tuesday’s show included Magic Johnson, Tommy Lasorda, Don Mattingly, and Adrian Gonzalez.

At 8:30 p.m., “Backstage: Dodgers” aired which will bring viewers behind-the-scenes footage of the team.

Feb 10, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sportsnet LA broadcasters at 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers preview at Dodger Stadium. From left: Nomar Garciaparra and Alanna Rizzo and Orel Hershiser and Charley Steiner and Vin Scully and John Hartung. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“Connected With…” follows at 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. Clayton Kershaw and Don Mattingly sat down for more lengthier interviews in the first two episodes.

At 10 p.m. the premiere of “2013 Dodgers: A Whole New Blue” will air and review last season with new footage that has never been seen.

During the first few minutes of the first episode of “Access SportsNet: Dodgers” there was already some technical difficulties with the audio when they tried to talk with Vin Scully from Camelback Ranch. The production team is sure to iron out the bugs and early technical glitches, but there was one pink elephant in the room which was not addressed by the studio team. The unfortunate fact that only a portion of Dodger fans in the Los Angeles area could even see Vin Scully’s meaningful tribute and opening or any of the new programming whatsoever.

Many Dodger fans who do not have Time Warner Cable as their service provider were left in the dark on Tuesday night. Even though the fans continue to voice their wants to their respective cable providers, it is unclear if any distribution deals will be struck anytime soon between the cable companies and TWC. As of right now, TWC has sole distribution rights to the SportsNet LA channel.

If you are a TWC customer you can watch SportsNet LA on channel 239 or channel 231 in HD. Luckily, I am a TWC customer, but I know how it feels to be shut out after enduring the KCAL blackout last season. Not being able to watch Dodger games during that historic stretch last season almost made me lose it!

The only information we have right now is that TWC is currently negotiating with the other cable service providers, but we have no idea if

There is still no deal between TWC and other cable providers for distribution of SportsNet LA.

they are close to an agreement or if these negotiations will stretch past Spring Training and into the regular season. Regardless, Dodger fans should have access to their Dodgers even if it is just Spring Training.

Eventually the other cable companies will end up carrying the channel, but as we learned from the Lakers channel debacle, it could take awhile. I guess you have to weigh your options, and ask yourself if you want to risk missing Dodger games or just go through with the switch.