Time Warner Cable & CBS Extend Negotiations

LOS ANGELES: Time Warner Cable and CBS Corporation have agreed to extend their negotiating deadline until 5 p.m. on August 2, after a short blackout period in some markets around midnight last night was quickly reversed.

The two companies have been at odds over fees to be paid by Time Warner Cable for the right to carry CBS programming. The two had been extending talks in one-hour increments while new carriage negotiations continued. However, around midnight last night it appeared that talks between the two had broken down.

Time Warner Cable issued a statement just after midnight that said: "The outrageous demands for fees by CBS Corporation have forced Time Warner Cable to remove several of its networks and broadcast stations from our customers’ lineups. As of midnight eastern, Time Warner Cable customers in New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles will no longer receive their local CBS broadcast stations. In addition, we have been forced to remove Showtime, TMC, Flix and Smithsonian from our lineups across the country. We offered to pay reasonable increases, but CBS’s demands are out of line and unfair—and they want Time Warner Cable to pay more than others pay for the same programming.

"Fortunately, CBS programming is still available free online at cbs.com and over the air with an antenna. Showtime subscribers can watch some programming at sho.com. For more information on other ways to watch these shows, customers should visit www.twcconversations.com. We regret any inconvenience caused by the CBS/Showtime blackout, and we’re working hard to restore the programming at a reasonable price. Switching is not the answer; sooner or later CBS will threaten others and go dark, just as they have with DISH in the past and with us today. We thank our customers for their patience, and we hope to resolve this situation soon."

Shortly after, Time Warner Cable issued another statement saying, "at the request of CBS, we have halted going dark on their channels."