Time Warner Cable scores big with Lakers deal

Taking a (sports?) page from its counterpart in Philadelphia, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC-WI) is launching two regional sports channels, one in Spanish, in the Los Angeles area built on the backbone of a 20-year carriage deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

To an extent, the deal mimics one Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) has had for years with Philadelphia's professional teams. Starting with the 2012-2013 season, all Lakers games (except national telecasts, of course) will be shown only on cable. That means the local CBS affiliate, KCAL will be shut out of the 41 games it used to broadcast.

Time Warner Cable Executive Vice President and Chief Programming Officer told the Los Angeles Times that the deal is part of the MSO's desire to "control our own economic destiny." Unlike Comcast, which has stuck by its guns and shut out satellite competitors in the Philadelphia market, Time Warner is expected to cut carriage deals with the likes of DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) as well as other cable operators Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) and Cox Cable.

For more:
- the Los Angeles Times has this story

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