Pay TV's full-court press

[Commentary] If you live in the Los Angeles area and are not a sports fan, Time Warner Cable's new 20-year deal with the L.A. Lakers is going to hurt you where it counts: in your wallet. That's because virtually all digital pay-TV subscribers in the L.A. area, whether or not they are sports fans, will foot the bill for this expensive deal. The Time Warner-Lakers agreement is just the latest example of how a small set of sports channels has become a key driver of the escalating amount we are all paying to watch television.