Time Warner Cable, L.A. Lakers in TV Deal

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NEW YORK/EL SEGUNDO: Time Warner Cable and the Los Angeles Lakers have entered into a 20-year pact for games that will air on two new regional sports networks, beginning in the 2012-2013 season.

The cable platform will launch two regional sports networks in HD, one in Spanish, which will be made available to all satellite, cable and telco distributors in the Lakers’ territory—including Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii. The networks will offer all locally-televised home and away games and a variety of new and original Lakers’ content featuring behind-the-scenes, personality and classic programming. There will also be pre- and post-game shows produced separately in both English and Spanish, news and magazine show throughout the season, plus online and on demand multiplatform content.

“This long-term agreement represents a huge win for all Lakers fans, providing destination channels, more content and more platforms for the Lakers, one of the premier brands in professional sports today,” said Glenn Britt, Time Warner Cable’s chairman and CEO. “It allows us to secure great ‘must-have’ content for our customers in an advantageous arrangement that affords us greater control over our own economic destiny for decades to come. We’ll be able to fully leverage our experience in local and regional programming; we have been at the forefront of the industry with 24-hour regional news and 24-hour regional news in Spanish, and now we’re breaking ground with the nation’s first Spanish-language regional sports network, something that’s tailor made for Southern California.”

“The Buss family is thrilled to join forces with Time Warner Cable in building the TV home for Lakers fans," said Dr. Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers. “Time Warner Cable has been producing quality sports programming for over a decade and the Lakers have been producing championship seasons for even longer. I am particularly proud of being part of the first ever Spanish-language RSN in the country. Together I’m confident we will delight our fans."