Andre Yoskowitz
2 Sep 2013 20:03
After a month-long blackout, Time Warner Cable and CBS have reached a deal over retransmission fees and the channels are back in all major markets.
Besides just CBS, other channels returning are Showtime, The Smithsonian Channel, and CBS Sports Network. Affected cities were NY, LA, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Detroit.
CBS CEO Les Moonves wrote in an email to employees: "The final agreements with Time Warner Cable deliver to us all the value and terms that we sought in these discussions. We are receiving fair compensation for CBS content and we also have the ability to monetize our content going forward on all the new, developing platforms that are right now transforming the way people watch television."
Time Warner emailed subscribers: "We're pleased to announce that we've reached an agreement with CBS that will return their blacked out channels to our lineup immediately (including Showtime, TMC, Flix, Smithsonian, and the CBS broadcast stations in NY, LA, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, and Pittsburgh).
As in all of our negotiations, our main goal was to hold down costs and retain our ability to deliver a great video experience for our customers. We're pleased that we successfully achieved both. We hate that these fights have to happen--and that our customers get caught in the middle--but they do allow us to negotiate deals that provide better outcomes for our customers."