01-03-2019, 04:35 PM
The Dodgers channel situation is extra unique because in a little to no bad weather city, Directv became the dominate pay TV provider, where as in many cities the cable co. is the biggest player. For the first few years of the Dodgers' network's existence, on one had it was a big loss to the channel's ownership not having a Directv carriage agreement, but on the other hand it did result in switching service for some from Directv to, at the time, Time Warner Cable. But no one knows for sure how many people switched, and it apparently wasn't enough to get Directv to budge.
Anyway, in Chicago, I would imagine Comcast has way more power than either Directv or TWC had in a much more split market in LA back in 2014. So I think it's hard for anyone to predict how it'll shape up, particularly as cord-cutting increases, and other players like ATT and verizon look for more market share and might want to be the "exclusive provider of Cubs baseball" at great expense, as in say the NFL Sunday Ticket package on directv.
Anyway, in Chicago, I would imagine Comcast has way more power than either Directv or TWC had in a much more split market in LA back in 2014. So I think it's hard for anyone to predict how it'll shape up, particularly as cord-cutting increases, and other players like ATT and verizon look for more market share and might want to be the "exclusive provider of Cubs baseball" at great expense, as in say the NFL Sunday Ticket package on directv.