L-A Radio: KLAC-AM Could Benefit From Dodgers' Low TV Ratings

Vin Scully on SportsNet set

The Los Angeles Dodgers this week kicked off the 2015 season with two stadium sellouts and an uneven performance in the TV ratings.

According to the LA Times, Monday afternoon's opening day telecast on the team-owned cable channel, SportsNet LA, generated a .79 household rating and an estimated 58,146 viewers. That's slightly more than turned out at Dodger Stadium for the sold-out game that culminated with a win over the San Diego Padres.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which were on the road Monday against the Seattle Mariners, generated a 1.35 household TV rating in Southern California and 88,415 viewers. The Fox Sports West cable channel carries the Angels' games.

The Dodgers' TV audience took a tumble on Wednesday. The game mustered a .58 household rating and just 35,000 viewers -- far fewer than showed up at Dodger Stadium for the sold-out game.

Fox Sports West is carried by all of the major pay-TV distributors -- making it available in nearly 4.5 million homes in the region.

But because of a bitter fee dispute, Time Warner Cable, which distributes SportsNet LA, is the only major pay-TV provider that offers that channel in Southern California. Other providers have balked at the price that Time Warner Cable has been demanding to carry the channel, leaving more than 70% of the region without regular TV access to Dodger games.

There currently are no negotiations planned and both sides have since refused to budge -- frustrating some advertisers and thousands of Dodgers fans who are unable to watch the games.

"The ratings have been really low," said Mary Jo Sobotka, chief integrated media officer for the Phelps advertising agency in Santa Monica. "A lot of advertisers are thinking about radio (KLAC 570 AM) as an option."

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