It's a sign of how bad it's gotten between DirecTV and Time Warner Cable: they two companies don't agree on whether they're still negotiating to carry the new all-Dodgers channel, Time Warner Cable Sportsnet LA.
"We are not in negotiations with DirecTV at this moment," Time Warner Cable Sports President David Rone told KPCC Friday.
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"That is not at all accurate," countered Dan York, DirecTV's Chief Content Officer. "We're in talks. We have made subsequent suggestions and proposals to them."
York said he or his deputies are talking every few days with representatives from Time Warner, but Rone countered that in reality, any substantive negotiations ended.
"As you can imagine, there's a lot of ways you can say that we're talking," said Rone. "If I place a phone call to you, or if I ask you a question, that can be defined as we're talking."
Bottom line: Now one month into the season, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable appear to be farther apart then ever, which isn't just bad news for DirecTV subscribers, who make up about 25 percent of Southern California pay-TV customers. It's bad for everyone else who isn't on Time Warner, too, because if DirecTV doesn't make a deal, other providers like Cox and Charter have much less incentive to make one, because customers who want the Dodgers don't have another service to switch to.