CBS and TWC Extend Negotiations Deadline to Aug. 2 (Updated)

CBS and TWC continue to negotiate in protracted retransmission standott

UPDATE, 7 a.m. Tuesday:

The retransmission standoff between CBS and Time Warner Cable has gone into extra-extra innings. Both sides have agreed to extend the deadline to 5 p.m. ET on Aug, 2 while they continue negotiations.

Previously….

UPDATE, 9:37 pm Monday:

As it turns out, CBS won't be going dark for Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas just yet.

"At the request of CBS, we have halted going dark on their channels.  I'll update you when I have more information I can share," TWC said in a statement. "Thanks very much for your patience everyone."

Previously…

After multiple deadline delays, CBS and Time Warner Cable have failed to reach an agreement in their retransmission dispute, and CBS will go dark in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas.

"The outrageous demands for fees by CBS Corporation have forced Time Warner Cable to remove several of its networks and broadcast stations from our customers’ lineups," Time Warner Cable said in a statement Monday night. "As of midnight ET, Time Warner Cable customers in New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles will no longer receive their local CBS broadcast stations. In addition, we have been forced to remove Showtime, TMC, Flix and Smithsonian from our lineups across the country. We offered to pay reasonable increases, but CBS’s demands are out of line and unfair – and they want Time Warner Cable to pay more than others pay for the same programming."

In its own statement, CBS accused Time Warner Cable of engaging in "voodoo mathematics."

“In spite of all our efforts to hammer out a fair agreement, Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS and Showtime from its channel lineup effective midnight ET. Meanwhile, they continue to engage in a public campaign of disinformation and voodoo mathematics (featuring wildly inflated percentages) while doggedly restating their positions. Time Warner Cable seems incapable of accepting the concept that the value of a company's programming should be in line with its popularity. It is no mystery why this company has dropped more than 50 television stations from its service in the last five years alone, some as recently as last week."

The potential blackout will affect 3.5 million homes — roughly 29 percent of Time Warner Cable's video subscriptions.

It would also mark the first time that CBS has allowed its signal to go dark in a retransmission dispute.

The original 2009 agreement expired at the end of June.

Also read: CBS and TWC Push Negotiations Deadline Back to 8 p.m. ET

CBS declined to disclose the rates it is seeking, but analysts say that the network is seeking about $2 per subscriber, from an estimated 75 cents to $1.

CBS previously told TheWrap in a statement that the company "remains committed to working towards a mutually agreeable contract," and accused TWC of being unwilling to negotiate the same type of deals as other transmitters.

Time Warner Cable claimed that CBS is asking for 600 percent more in the potentially affected markets — primarily, New York, Los Angeles and Dallas — than TWC pays for the content in other areas. TWC calls that request "unprecedented."

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