SCWest & SCWest-2 are Los Angeles-based regional sports networks serving Southern California, Central California, southern Nevada, Alaska & Hawaii. They are owned by SportsChannel, a subsidiary of WMFL Corporation. They are the cable TV homes of the Los Angeles Clippers & Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres & Oakland Athletics (MLB), Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings & San Jose Sharks (NHL), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), C.D. Chivas USA & Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) & Los Angeles Avengers (AFL) & local coverage of the PAC-10, West Coast, Mountain West, Western Athletic & BIG West conferences.
To note, Angels & Lakers local cable broadcasts air exclusively on West & the Dodgers & Clippers air their cable telecasts exclusively on West-2. The remaining teams on the West/West-2 roster usually shuffle between the 2 networks in the case of overlapping coverage of televised events. Many of the teams, aside from the Clippers, Galaxy, Kings & Chivas USA have some coverage on an over-the-air station, further reducing conflicts. These over the air stations are KLAC for the Angels & the Lakers, KLCA for the Ducks & a combined 50 home & away Dodgers telecasts & KBYA 7 in San Francisco for the Athletics.
SCWest/SCWest-2's general & sales offices are located in downtown Los Angeles, across from the Staples Center. Their studio is located inside the Staples Center
History[]
1980's[]
SCWest was founded in October of 1985 as the original West-2 network. Unlike many of the regional sports networks that were operating @ the time of West-2's launching, the channel was (& still is) a basic cable channel, as opposed to being a premium cable service. Prior to the launch of West-2, Lakers & Kings games (primarily the non-nationally televised home games) were on the "Select-TV" subscription service. Because of the height of the Lakers popularity in the midst of their 1980's championship run & the addition of hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky to the Kings in 1988, West-2 became 1 of the leading regional sports networks in the country, rivaling that of New York's SCNew York: NYC & SCNew York: NYC-2
1990's[]
In 1990, the network became the cable TV home of the then-California Angels (now the LA Angels of Anaheim).
In 1996, the now-rechristened SCWest became part of SportsChannel, which was formed after WMFL Corporation relaunched SportsChannel's feeds. It was then that the network took on it's current name.
In January of 1997, SCWest-2 was formed to serve as a cable home for the Clippers, Dodgers & all other events that SCWest didn't have room for
2000's[]
For a small number of selected Lakers home telecasts on SCWest, games are also broadcast on SCWest-2 (referred to as "Courtside View"), usually on a night when there are no other LIVE telecasts airing. Courtside View offers viewers different camera angles (including those from above the baskets), from the perspective of a fan sitting courtside @ a Lakers game. Bill MacDonald is the host of those "Courtside View" telecasts, however there are no play-by-play accounts of these broadcasts, but the SC|BOX| scorebar is on-screen @ all times, including most timeouts. This experiment was also used on a couple Kings & Ducks home telecasts in recent years
Carriage Disputes with COX & Time Warner Cable in San Diego County[]
Ever since SCWest-2 came into existence in 1997, Time Warner Cable & COX Communications serving San Diego County have refused to carry SCWest-2, claiming that the network asks too much money to be put on the expanded basic tier. It should be noted that Time Warner Cable in parts of Fallbrook, Encinitas, San Marcos, Solana Becach, Vista & all of Carlsbad & Del Mar (not to be confused with the neighboring community of Del Mar Heights) receive SCWest-2, due to the fact that those areas were formerly served by Adelphia. Adelphia in northern San Diego County acquired SCWest-2 in December of 2001 & has remained in the cable lineup of those communities even when Time Warner Cable took over Adelphia in 2006
Dodgers & Angels Blackouts in San Diego County[]
Because of the San Diego Padres having the territory rights for all of San Diego County & the surrounding areas, games for the Los Angeles Dodgers & the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are blacked out on SCWest & SCWest-2 in that county, no matter what the cable or satellite provider, requiring the purchase of the MLB Extra Innings package to view those telecasts. All other sports programming with the exception of Angels baseball games on SCWest & Dodgers baseball games on SCWest-2 are available in San Diego County
Padres Blackout in Los Angeles & Orange Counties[]
Because of the Los Angeles Dodgers & the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim having the territory rights for all of Los Angeles County, Orange County & the surrounding areas, games for the San Diego Padres are blacked out on SCWest & SCWest-2 in that county, no matter what the cable or satellite provider, requiring the purchase of the MLB Extra Innings package to view those telecasts. All other sports programming with the exception of Padres baseball games on SCWest/SCWest-2 are available in Los Angeles County & in Orange County
Athletics Blackout in San Diego County[]
Because of the Oakland Athletics having the territory rights for all of the Bay Area & the surrounding areas, games for the Oakland Athletics are blacked out on SCWest & SCWest-2 in that county, no matter what the cable or satellite provider, requiring the purchase of the MLB Extra Innings package to view those telecasts. All other sports programming with the exception of Athletics baseball games on SCWest/SCWest-2 are available in San Diego County
NOTES on the Blackouts[]
- Dodgers & Angles games are also blacked out in Alameda County & the Bay Area
- Athletics games are also blacked out in Los Angeles & Orange Counties
- Padres games are also blacked out in Alameda County & the Bay Area
Branding[]
SCWest[]
For regular programming & nationally-televised sporting events, a small logo bug appears on the top right of the screen which reads SCWest, with the SC colored in a light blue. The logo changes during local sporting events. For instance, during Angels baseball games & the Angels LIVE pre- & post-game shows, the logo turns to SCAngels, with the SC colored in red. During Kings hockey games & Kings LIVE shows, the logo switches to SCKings, with the SC colored purple. For Lakers basketball games & Lakers LIVE, the logo is SCLakers, with the SC in yellow. For Ducks hockey games (& Ducks LIVE), the logo is SCDucks, with SC shown in orange. For Padres games, the logo becomes SCPadres, with SC shown in navy blue. During Athletics baseball games, the logo becomes SCAthletics, with SC shown in green
SCWest-2[]
Just like SCWest, SCWest-2 also uses logo bugs on the top-right corner of the screen during it's programming. For regular programming & national sporting events, the logo reads SCWest-2, with SC shown in light blue. The logo changes during local sporting events. For Clippers games & Clippers LIVE, the logo is SC-Clippers, with SC colored in red. During Ducks hockey games & Ducks LIVE, the logo is SCDucks, with SC colored in orange. For Dodgers baseball games & Dodgers LIVE, the logo reads as SCDodgers, with the SC shown in the team's signature color, Dodger blue. And occasionally, Angels games (& Angels LIVE) are aired on SCWest-2 & for this the logo turns to SCAngels, with SC shown in red. Kings hockey games (& Kings LIVE) are also occasionally shown on SCWest-2 & as such the logo is SCKings, with the SC colored in purple. For Padres games, the logo becomes SCPadres, with SC shown in navy blue. During Athletics baseball games, the logo becomes SCAthletics, with SC shown in green