CBS stations won’t be available to Time Warner...
CBS stations won’t be available to Time Warner Cable subscribers Thursday morning if the two companies can’t agree on a new retransmission consent agreement, said executives with both sides of a possible retrans blackout. The companies traded more (CD July…
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23 p20) verbal barbs Tuesday, as the blackout was put off from the 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline (CD July 22 p7). Time Warner Cable is “happy to consider an extension offer,” said a spokeswoman. “But right now we want to continue to negotiate to try to reach an agreement before the expiration.” CBS CEO Les Moonves sees the dispute as having “escalated over the past few days,” with “a very real threat that Time Warner Cable is going to drop our stations in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas (and possibly Showtime) off the air Thursday morning,” he wrote employees. “We don’t take this situation lightly.” Like Showtime, TMC also wouldn’t be carried on Time Warner Cable nationwide if a new deal isn’t reached, both sides have said. The broadcast network’s shows “are among the most popular in the industry, and yet there are many cable networks -- with considerably less viewership -- that receive more money for their programming from Time Warner Cable than we do,” wrote Moonves. “CBS is not even in the top 10 recipients of the programming fees paid out by Time Warner Cable.” Cable, telco and DBS “are appreciating what CBS provides their customers, and we have been successfully negotiating new, current market deals that work well for us and our partners,” he said. Moonves cited deals with Comcast, Cablevision, DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon and AT&T. Time Warner Cable “is unique in its aggressive approach,” he said. Time Warner Cable is “willing to pay for CBS, and we have offered them significant fees,” said its spokeswoman. “Their current demands don’t represent a good value for our customers. Nevertheless, we'll continue to negotiate, and hope to reach an agreement before the expiration.” Rather than just Time Warner Cable, “everyone is having these problems,” said the spokeswoman. “Literally every other distributor, whether cable, satellite, or telco, has acknowledged the problems created by programmers’ rising costs.” She cited “well-publicized disputes this year and last involving cable/satellite/telco distributors and both national cable networks and local broadcast stations."