Rep. Cárdenas Praises Charter-Tribune Dodgers Deal

Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) was beside himself at the news that Charter and Tribune had come to an agreement that puts the Los Angeles Dodgers back on KTLA Los Angeles.

Following the news, the congressman even penned a song in honor of the occasion.

"PLAY BALL! Charter Communications takes a swing at Congressman Tony Cárdenas’ (CA-29) pitch to end Dodgers TV blackout," Cárdenas’ office crowed in a statement to journalists Friday.

In 2014, Cárdenas and some of his L.A. delegation colleagues wrote Wheeler asking him to mediate the stalemate between TWC and other operators.

Pointing out that the first game back on air will be a Vin Scully Appreciation Day, Cárdenas quipped. “Game on! Man have I missed Vin Scully. He’s the reason I signed up for the Congressional baseball team again this year and why I will be watching the games that will air on KTLA 5. As a legislator, I do not always get to take a swing at fun topics, but if there is anything I am proud of it is my efforts to end the Dodgers blackout in L.A. This may not be the home run my colleagues and I had been writing to FCC Chairman [Tom] Wheeler about, but it certainly gets us on base."

Then he broke into song, at least remotely, adding that for the next month he would be singing his own rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

Take me out to the ball game,

The Dodgers are finally on.

Buy me a TV that airs the games.

After Vin leaves it will not be the same.

Let’s root, root, root for broadcast negotiations;

If they don’t agree it’s a shame.

For it’s 1! 2! 3!... 4,5,6 games

And we’re back on in L.A!”

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.