Courtesy, NewsBreaker
Well, after several starts and stops on Monday, Time Warner Cable has finally pulled CBS and its affiliated cable networks, Showtime, the Movie Channel, FLIX and the Smithsonian. CBS Sports Network has not been affected. In addition, CBS-owned and operated stations in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles have been pulled from Time Warner systems. This also affects the CBS-owned CW station in LA.
The deadline for CBS and Time Warner Cable for a deal was at 5 p.m. ET today and just like clockwork, the stations started going dark on TWC systems across the country.
If the dispute becomes extended, then this could affect sports. Some of CBS Sports’ programming in August includes the PGA Championship next weekend, two NFL preseason games (Seattle at Green Bay, 8/23 and St. Louis at Denver, 8/24) and the U.S. Open.
Also, NFL preseason games that are produced locally for WCBS in New York and KTVT in Dallas could also be affected.
So, there’s going to be a lot angry viewers if the dispute continues.
Here’s CBS’ statement.
CBS Statement On Time Warner Cable Action
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2013 — Effective 5:00 PM Eastern Time, Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and several other markets. We deeply regret this ill-advised action, which is injurious not only to our many affected viewers, but also to Time Warner Cable itself. Throughout this process, Time Warner Cable has conducted negotiations in a combative and non-productive spirit, indulging in pointless brinksmanship and distorted public positioning – such as the fictional and ridiculous 600% increase CBS supposedly demanded – while maintaining antiquated positions no longer held by any other programming distributor in the business. CBS, for its part, is eager to make an agreement in line with the kind it has struck with every other cable, satellite and telco provider, and has continually sought reasonable term extensions to get that job done. This is the first time in its history that CBS has been dropped from a cable system. Time Warner Cable, on the other hand, has a long history of taking channels off the air – more than 50 in the last five years alone. It has also chosen to drop Showtime, which is owned by CBS, a move that is completely unnecessary and totally punitive to its subscribers.
What CBS seeks, and what we always have sought from the beginning, is fair compensation for the most-watched television network with the most popular content in the world. We will not accept less. We will not sign away rights not granted to others. We will not give up our channel position or any other asset by which our viewers identify us. We will also not be subjected to pointless maneuvers like a series of one-hour extensions and mini-drops that do nothing for either side but annoy our viewers. We hope and believe this period of darkness will be short and that we can all get back to the business of providing the best entertainment, news and sports to the Time Warner Cable customers we both serve.
CBS Sports has issued this advisory.
TIME WARNER CABLE SUBSCRIBERS TO MISS CBS SPORTS’ LIVE NATIONAL PROGRAMMING BEGINNING TOMORROW, SATURDAY AUG. 3
Viewers to Miss CBS Sports’ Coverage of the World Golf Championships: Bridgestone Invitational as Tiger Woods Leads
Due to the Time Warner Cable blackout, Time Warner Cable subscribers will be deprived of a variety of CBS Sports’ live golf coverage beginning on Saturday, Aug. 3 with coverage of the World Golf Championships: Bridgestone Invitational, with Tiger Woods leading heading into third-round coverage.
Additionally, viewers will miss CBS Sports’ coverage of the season’s final major, the PGA Championship beginning Thursday Aug. 8 and continuing through final-round coverage on Sunday, Aug. 11. CBS Sports will also broadcast the Wyndham Championship on Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18.
Here is the statement from Time Warner.
CBS Corporation, the owner of several TV networks and broadcast TV stations, has made outrageous demands for the right to continue delivering their programming to our customers. As a result, several CBS-owned channels have been removed from your lineup, while we continue to negotiate for fair and reasonable terms.
We deeply regret being forced into this position by CBS, but we’re prepared to stand by our customers and do what it takes to fight these unreasonable demands.
The affected channels are:
- CBS Owned-and-Operated TV stations in the following cities:
Los Angeles: KCBS and KCAL-Ind.
New York: WCBS
Dallas-Ft. Worth: KTVT-CBS and KTXA-Ind.
Boston: WBZ-CBS and WSBK-Ind. (carried in parts of NH and MA)
Chicago: WBBM-CBS (carried in parts of WI)
Denver: KCNC-CBS (carried in Gunnison and Telluride)
Detroit: WKBD-CW (carried in parts of OH)
Pittsburgh: KDKA-CBS and WPCW-CW (carried in parts of OH)- Showtime
- The Movie Channel (TMC)
- Flix
- Smithsonian Channel
We’ll keep an eye on this.
