TWC beefs up Pac-12 Net carriage in L.A., targets DirecTV

Further solidifying its position of Los Angeles regional sports network supremacy, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) has added five additional Pac-12 Networks channels to its local Sports Pass bundle.

The move ramps up a heated battle between the Nos. 1 and 2 pay-TV operators in the nation's second biggest television market, with runner-up DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) the only provider in the region not to carry the RSN home of the Pacific 12 athletic conference as it heads into its third college football season.

The additional channels give L.A. TWC subscribers access to all of the Pac-12's other schools beyond just USC and UCLA, with channels situated in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Northern California and Utah/Colorado joining the bundle.

Despite a reported price point of around 80 cents per subscriber, DirecTV continues to resist a Pac-12 Networks deal, even though it has reached an agreement to deliver the new ESPN-backed SEC Network nationally.

Individuals with knowledge of DirecTV's thinking say the operator is concerned about the quality of Pac-12 football games that are not already covered by national networks such as ESPN. 

DirecTV has also refused to carry TWC's far more expensive RSN home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, SportsNet LA.

For more:
- read this Los Angeles Times story

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