SportsNet LA expands to former Cox customers after Charter merger

Spectrum SportsNet LA is expanding to former Cox Communications customers in parts of Southern California and Nevada, ending one of the remaining major distribution gaps for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ regional sports network.

Beginning Friday, Cox customers with Contour TV Preferred or Contour TV Ultimate service in Orange County, California; Palos Verdes, California; Santa Barbara, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada, will receive SportsNet LA. The network will be available on Channel 63 in Orange County, Channel 54 in Palos Verdes, Channel 36 in Santa Barbara and Channel 50 in Las Vegas.

The addition is not the result of a traditional carriage agreement between Cox and SportsNet LA. Instead, it comes after Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum, completed its $34.5 billion combination with Cox on Thursday. Spectrum’s full pricing and product lineup is expected to begin rolling out in former Cox markets in mid-September.

The transaction effectively resolves a distribution dispute that stretched back to SportsNet LA’s launch in February 2014.

The Dodgers created SportsNet LA as part of a 25-year television agreement with Time Warner Cable that was valued at about $8.35 billion. The network was designed to become the exclusive local television home of the Dodgers, but Time Warner Cable initially struggled to persuade rival cable and satellite companies to carry it.

At launch, SportsNet LA was unavailable in the majority of Los Angeles, California, pay-TV homes. Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks carried the channel, but major distributors including DirecTV, Dish Network and Cox stayed away as the companies disputed the price of carrying the expensive regional sports network.

The distribution picture gradually improved. Charter acquired Time Warner Cable in 2016 and continued operating the channel under the Spectrum brand. DirecTV finally reached an agreement to carry SportsNet LA in 2020, ending a blackout that had lasted six seasons for its Southern California subscribers.

SportsNet LA has also expanded beyond the traditional cable bundle. The network added a direct-to-consumer streaming option for Dodgers fans in its territory in 2025, while Fubo added SportsNet LA in March under a new carriage agreement. Fubo said the channel would be included in its base plan for subscribers within the network’s territory.

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Despite those additions, SportsNet LA remained unavailable through Cox, Dish Network, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.

The Cox addition is particularly significant because the provider serves several communities within the Dodgers’ designated television territory. For some customers, Friday will mark the first time SportsNet LA has been available through their local cable provider since the network launched more than 12 years ago.

Access will not be included with every Cox television package. Customers must have the higher-tier Contour TV Preferred or Contour TV Ultimate plans to receive the channel.

SportsNet LA is owned by the Dodgers through American Media Productions LLC. Charter serves as its exclusive affiliate and advertising sales representative and provides production and technical services under agreements that extend through 2038.