TVs Stay Dark Amid Time Warner, CBS Dispute

If you’re a Time Warner Cable customer and a fan of CBS or Showtime programs like “The Big Bang Theory,” “60 Minutes” or “Dexter,” you and your television set may be caught in a standoff between the two companies.
ime Warner Cable’s current contract with CBS Television expired yesterday at 5pm Eastern Time.

The contract was set to expire weeks ago, but we agreed to several extensions hoping we could reach a deal to keep CBS on the air. Unfortunately, despite our continued efforts to reach agreement, CBS has been uncompromising – making demands that are completely inconsistent with the agreements we’ve reached with hundreds of other broadcasters.
Time Warner Cable’s current contract with CBS Television expired this weekend, blocking out CBS stations, and cable networks owned by CBS, in large parts of New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.
“The contract was set to expire weeks ago, but we agreed to several extensions hoping we could reach a deal to keep CBS on the air,” says a statement from Time Warner Cable’s chairman and CEO, Glenn Britt. “Unfortunately, despite our continued efforts to reach agreement, CBS has been uncompromising–making demands that are completely inconsistent with the agreements we’ve reached with hundreds of other broadcasters.”
Because of the impasse, Time Warner Cable is no longer authorized to carry CBS-owned broadcast affiliates, which include KCBS Los Angeles, WCBS New York, and KTVT Dallas, as well as other CBS-owned cable networks, such as Showtime, TMC, Flix, Smithsonian and CBS Primetime On Demand programming.
“We deeply regret this ill-advised action, which is injurious not only to our many affected viewers, but also to Time Warner Cable itself,” CBS says in a statement. “Throughout this process, Time Warner Cable has conducted negotiations in a combative and non-productive spirit, indulging in pointless brinksmanship and distorted public positioning.”
Customers are also understandably upset.
“Why are you making your customers [bare] the responsibility of negotiating agreements for YOU with CBS and Showtime,” writes Dallas, TX resident Wendy Rhodes Quenzer on Time Warner Cable’s Facebook page. “This is absurd and ridiculous. ALL of your customers should be compensated for you breaking contract with us and not providing shows we are paying for!”
Jon Lafayette, Business Editor for Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, joins us to examine the stalemate and what’s next for the media giants.
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