Senators Send Letter To CBS, Time Warner Over Negotiations

Posted by: KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 in Santa Clarita News August 12, 2013 - 3:23 pm 0 125 Views

NBCLA.COM contributed to this report
California’s senators weighed in Monday on the protracted negotiations that have blacked out CBS on Time Warner Cable for millions of subscribers.

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KCBS and KCAL are the two local affiliates that Los Angeles County subscribers.

Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein penned the following letters to CBS President Leslie Moonves and Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt:

“Millions of customers in the Los Angeles area and throughout the country have subscribed to receive the programming CBS networks create and Time Warner Cable distributes, but are unable to access it because of this standoff,” the senators wrote in their letter. “The status quo is unfair to the millions of your customers who are caught in the middle of your dispute, and we strongly encourage both sides to resolve it immediately.”

Negotiations between the two companies reached an impasse 11 days ago.

Three million Time Warner Cable customers in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and elsewhere lost access to CBS programming on multiple channels after the cable provider dropped the network in a dispute over fees.

The nation’s second largest cable operator said that CBS refused to have productive discussions despite a monthlong extension of talks since a previous deal expired at the end of June.

CBS said it regrets Time Warner Cable’s decision, which it called “ill-advised.”
Time Warner Cable customers who subscribe to Showtime, TMC, FLIX and Smithsonian channels were also to lose programming.

In its message to subscribers, Time Warner Cable said it would replace the lost programming with shows from Starz Kids and Family temporarily.

Multiple stations that carry CBS programming in New York and Los Angeles were replaced with a message from Time Warner Cable, saying that CBS had “demanded an outrageous increase” in the fees it demands to carry the signal of its TV stations.

Time Warner Cable subscribers in other markets were also affected.

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