A dispute over retransmission fees could see Time Warner Cable customers lose access to CBS as soon as July 24. The two companies have gone public with the negotiations, having failed to come to a deal in the boardrooms.
If CBS does get pulled from Time Warner Cable, TWC customers in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and other markets will not be able to see “CBS This Morning,” “60 Minutes,” “The Late Show” and “CSI,” among other programs. Suffice it to say the ratings will suffer as a result, though for CBS, the most important thing is getting higher fees from the cable company.
CBS has launched a website, keepcbs.com, to get its point of view out, and both companies have taken out print ads (see photo above). The LA Times‘ Joe Flint has more details on the dispute.
The dispute–the latest in a strong of disputes over carriage and retrans fees–will adversely affect consumers no matter which company ends up winning. If CBS gets pulled, people won’t be able to watch shows they want to see (and if it keeps going, NFL football would be affected). If TWC pays CBS what it wants, the monthly price of cable service will go up even more.
For CBS News, it would also stymie the ratings progress made by “CBS This Morning” and the “CBS Evening News.”