CBS and Time Warner Caable agreed to extend the deadline to come to a new carriage agreement until Monday. The temporary extension will keep CBS and Showtime on TWC cable packages through the weekend, while the two sides try to hash out a deal.
If a deal is not reached, Time Warner Cable customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas would lose access to the channels, and CBS would take a ratings hit while negotiations continue. TWC also threatened to permanently remove CBS from the “channel 2” slot, arguing that if the network wants to be paid like a cable channel, then it should have no guarantee of channel placement. It is absolutely a negotiating ploy, but it is one of the stronger arrows in the cable company’s quiver.
The New York Times‘ Bill Carter has more.