Time Warner Cable loses CBS channels, CBS says first time dropped from cable

Earlier this week negotiations between CBS and Time Warner Cable broke down and, for a few minutes, resulted in channels (CBS in some areas including New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas, plus Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix and Smithsonian Channel nationally) dropping from the cable service. The channels were restored and talks continued, but now time is up and it's official, the channels are out. According to CBS, this is the first time it's ever been dropped from a cable system, and has followed up with a note from Showtime claiming TWC dropped the premium channel despite authorization to keep it while negotiations continue. Time Warner Cable has its own statement, claiming CBS has "refused to have a productive discussion" since the Tuesday morning extension in talks.

With the NFL season looming we'll see how long TWC is willing to push Aereo and antennas as an alternative solution in these major markets and whether CBS is willing to live without the ratings from its viewers. For now, subscribers missing The Doctors can check out a video from TWC explaining exactly what happens behind the scenes when channels go dark.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: KeepCBS, TWC Conversations