Time Warner customers in 3 huge markets lose CBS

I used to be a Time Warner customer and I absolutely hated it. But, even though I hate Time Warner Cable with a passion, I'm not sure that CBS can afford not to go through with this deal and lose Dallas, New York and Los Angeles customers especially with football season being weeks away. I guess we'll have to stay tuned for new developments in this story. But for now, Yahoo! Finance has the latest:

The war between CBS and Time Warner Cable intensified Friday afternoon when the cable company pulled the CBS stations in the New York, Los Angeles and Dallas markets.

CBS suspended the service around 5 p.m. Eastern time. Both sides then issued statements blaming the other for being unreasonable in the negotiations, which were extended from Monday.

The decision means that viewers in those cities that subscribe to Time Warner Cable will not be able to watch CBS programming until a deal is reached. In the past, subscribers have reacted with anger at such suspensions, but generally because they have missed specific programs. In this case, the summer programming roster does not contain many highly popular shows that may drive a settlement. CBS’s biggest appeal this summer is from the show “Under the Dome,” which will not have a new episode until Monday.

But the network does have the PGA golf championship coming in a week. Further down the road is the NFL season, which would surely stir outrage if viewers were denied access to the games.
CBS called the action “ill-advised” and “injurious not only to our many affected viewers, but also to Time Warner Cable itself.”

Time Warner Cable followed with its own statement, saying, “CBS has refused to have a productive discussion. It’s become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they’re not willing to come to reasonable terms.”

CBS also used tough language in its statement, saying the cable company had “conducted negotiations in a combative and nonproductive spirit, indulging in pointless brinkmanship and distorted public positioning.” CBS labeled Time Warner Cable’s charge that CBS was seeking a 600 percent fee increase as “fictional and ridiculous.”