
In yet another drastic change affecting the business of distributing regional sports networks, the nation's second-largest pay TV operator, Charter Communications, will now offer a new lower-priced iteration of its most popular Spectrum-branded programming tier that will not include local sports and league channels.
Separately but related, Charter announced an extension of its carriage agreement with No. 3 operator DirecTV for its own regional sports networks (RSNs). In the Southern California region, DirecTV will now have more flexibility in how it distributes Spectrum SportsNet (exclusive local TV home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers) and Spectrum SportsNet LA (home of Major League Baseball’s Dodgers).