Time Warner inks deal to carry Padres

The long and bitter fight between Time Warner Cable and Fox Sports San Diego over televising the Padres games has come to an end.

Time Warner Cable reached an agreement Monday with Fox Sports to carry the regional sports network in time for opening day March 30. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Details are still being worked out regarding which Time Warner channel will carry Fox Sports San Diego — and what level of cable service will be required for subscribers to see the games.

“We’re happy for the many Padres fans who are Time Warner Cable customers who now will be able to follow their hometown baseball team on TV all season long,” Henry Ford, Fox Sports San Diego Senior Vice President and General Manager said in a statement. “With this agreement, Padres baseball will now be available in more homes in San Diego than ever before.”

Time Warner hasn’t carried the Padres on its cable network for the past two seasons — when Fox Sports acquired the rights to televise the Padres games from Cox Communications.

Time Warner cited high per-subscriber fees demanded by Fox Sports San Diego, as well as concerns from its subscribers about escalating monthly cable bills.

Other pay TV providers in the region, led by Cox and DirecTV, signed up early on to televise the Padres games, and other sports programming broadcast on Fox Sports San Diego. Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse came on board last year, making Time Warner the lone holdout.

“The Padres are thrilled about today’s agreement between Time Warner Cable and Fox Sports San Diego,” Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler said in a statement. “We thank our fans for their long-standing patience for the last several years. We’re excited bring San Diego Padres baseball to every home in San Diego County.”

With roughly 180,000 subscribers, Time Warner Cable represents about 20 percent of the local pay TV television market that has been unable to watch the Padres. That angered many Padres fans in the Time Warner coverage area, which generally includes neighborhoods in central and north parts of San Diego County.

Local politicians entered the fray occasionally — seeking to facilitate a deal. Nothing ever came of these efforts.

“It was a private negotiation between two companies,” said Mark Kersey, a San Diego City Council member who tried to spark talks. “I’m glad to see they finally have come to terms.

Kersey added that anger over the issue varied depending on how well the Padres were playing. “I would not put this near the top in terms of complaints we get, but we did hear about it sometimes when we were out in the community,” he said.

Ford, the Fox Sports vice president, said Time Warner Cable is paying the same per-subscriber rate as other pay TV providers carrying Fox Sports San Diego.

Negotiations between content owners and pay TV providers are notoriously secretive and complicated, making it hard to know exactly why Time Warner and Fox Sports were able to end their two-year impasse.

“We’re pleased to have reached a reasonable long-term agreement for Fox Sports San Diego, and we look forward to launching this network in the near future,” said Jennifer Chun, senior vice president of content acquisition for Time Warner Cable.

For more than a decade, Cox Communications televised Padres games. But Fox Sports acquired the rights after the 2011 season, entering a 20-year agreement that could provide the Padres $50 million a year on average. The ballclub has 20 percent ownership stake in Fox Sports San Diego.