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In Strange Dance, as Deadline (Again) Passes, Time Warner Cable Begins to Take CBS Stations Off Its Systems in Retrans Dispute, Only to Halt the Blackouts and Continue Negotiating

Jul 29, 2013  •  Post A Comment

"Time Warner Cable and CBS said early Tuesday morning that they will shrug off their self-imposed midnight Tuesday deadline and continue to negotiate on a new retransmission contract," USA Today reported at 12:27 a.m. ET.

The article adds, "TWC spokeswoman Maureen Huff said the signals were being removed when CBS asked to stop the process. ‘They were dark in some but not all areas,’ she said. ‘At the request of CBS, we have halted going dark on their channels.’ The parties will continue to negotiate with no established deadline, Huff said."

The story noted, "Their retransmission contract – which dictates how much CBS gets paid by TWC for its broadcast signals – expired at the end of June. But the companies chose to keep CBS stations on the air while the talks continued. They set several deadlines in July only to extend them repeatedly. On Tuesday, they extended the 5 p.m. deadline six times, once each hour after 7 p.m.

"Their negotiation involves only the 13 CBS-owned TV stations in eight markets that are served by TWC. Showtime, TMC, Flix and Smithsonian – all fully or partly owned by CBS – are also included in the contract."

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