CBS chief exec says cable fee dispute unresolved

Stations could go dark in 3 major markets

7/29/2013

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.  — CBS Corp. chief executive Les Moonves says a dispute with Time Warner Cable has yet to be resolved as a deadline looms involving the availability of stations in three major markets.

If it’s not settled, six CBS TV stations could go dark for around 3 million Time Warner Cable customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.

CBS Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. are in a public spat over fees in the markets.

Moonves told the Television Critics Association the deadline to resolve the dispute is 5 p.m. EDT today.

The disagreement centers mainly on how much Time Warner Cable pays for the right to retransmit signals from the CBS-owned stations.

Also involved is a possible blackout of CBS-owned Showtime for Time Warner Cable customers nationwide who pay extra for it.