Time Warner Agrees To Arbitration In Dodger TV Dispute

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Time Warner Cable is willing to allow an arbitrator help resolve it's dispute with DirecTV and other carriers over who can air Dodger games on television.

"We are willing to enter into binding arbitration with DirecTV, and we appreciate the Congressman's concern for Dodger fans. We prefer to reach agreements through private business negotiations, but given the current circumstance, we are willing to agree to binding arbitration and to allow DirecTV customers to watch the Dodgers games while the arbitration is concluded," Time Warner Cable (TWC) spokesman Andrew Fegyveresi said in a statement Tuesday.

Eight California lawmakers recently wrote a letter to the FCC, claiming that consumers were the ones being held hostage by the ongoing dispute with the cable giant.

While Time Warner bought the rights to the Dodgers for more than $8 billion, other carriers disagree over how much TWC wants for them to be able to broadcast games on SportsNet LA.

Other networks without broadcasting rights include Cox Communications, Dish Network and Verizon Fios.

As a result of the dispute, only some 30 percent of residents in Southern California have been able to watch the Dodgers in 2014.

"I've been wanting to watch, but I always have to go down to a friend's house to watch because I can't get it on my cable which is sad," one Dodger fan said. "It's not fair to the public to go ahead and do this. It's all about the money, it's about the mighty dollar and that's not right."

DirecTV released a statement Tuesday about the situation.

"Rather than force everyone to bail Time Warner Cable out, the simplest solution is to enable only those who want to pay to see the remaining Dodgers games to do so at the price Time Warner Cable wants to set," DirecTV said.

Other pay-TV services have yet to respond to the potential arbitration.