The two-time defending NBA champions have locked up their local television rights until the early-2030s.
The Lakers have agreed to a 20-year deal with Time Warner Cable to air all preseason, regular season and postseason Laker games, starting in the 2012-13 NBA season. This, of course, does not include any exclusive national television broadcasts.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the deal has been reported to be worth $3 billion, though that figure was “dismissed by Time Warner Cable” (latimes.com, 2/14/11).
Time Warner Cable will create two new regional sports networks. One of the two will be a standalone Spanish-language channel, the first such regional sports network.
The RSNs will be available in the Lakers’ territory, encompassing Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii.
Currently, Laker games air on Fox Sports West and independent (CBS-owned, but not affiliated with a network) affiliate KCAL. If there is no 2011-12 NBA season, both networks could be in their last few months broadcasting Laker games.
(Press release from Lakers.com, Los Angeles Times)
