CBS and Time Warner Cable have been entrenched in a pretty nasty negotiation for a while now as CBS apparently wants a major pay increase to be available on Time Warner. Things have deteriorated to the point that Time Warner cut CBS out in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. Via the AP:
EVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Time Warner Cable says it is dropping CBS from its lineup in three major markets after a fee dispute remained unresolved.
The cable company said about 3 million customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas will no longer receive their local CBS station as of midnight Eastern time.
A statement by Time Warner also said Showtime and three other CBS cable channels will also not be available to customers in those cities.
Time Warner cites CBS’ request for a 600 percent increase as the reason the network is getting dropped. Just watch the video for a primer.
Cutting CBS in these markets would cause a 29 percent decrease in viewership — roughly 3.5 million homes. The loss of these viewers would mean CBS would only lead NBC by 75 billion viewers. Things got even more interesting, though, as the channel getting cut may not last long.
So was this a bluff? Who knows where this will end up, but I’m pretty sure Time Warner cutting out CBS can be a tax write-off as a charitable act, right? Either way, we’ll keep you updated as this cat fight continues.
