Time Warner Cable removes CBS from lineup in 3 cities after fee fight, then reverses decision

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The fee dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS Corp. took an odd turn when the cable giant announced it was turning off the broadcaster in three major cities, then quickly reversed the decision.

The two sides negotiated through the day Monday to avoid a programming blackout. Both parties kept extending the deadline before the cable provider appeared to replace regular programming on the network with a company statement for a brief, undetermined amount of time.

Around 9 p.m. Pacific time, Time Warner Cable said about 3 million customers in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas would lose the network and four CBS cable stations because of "outrageous demands for fees" by CBS.

"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," Time Warner Cable said in a statement.

CBS countered, saying that it remained firm in getting fair compensation for its programming. It accused Time Warner Cable of having a "short-sighted, anti-consumer strategy."

Not long after the two sides traded barbs, Time Warner Cable said it halted its plans to drop CBS at the broadcaster's request.

Both sides agreed to continue negotiations. Time Warner Cable said it agreed to an extension until Friday at 2 p.m. Pacific time.

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

"As we've said, we feel like we should be paid for our programming," CBS chief executive Les Moonves told the Television Critics Association earlier Monday.

Dozens of blackouts have occurred nationwide in fee fights over the years, but many get resolved at the last minute.

Selling retransmission rights has become a big business for broadcasters such as CBS. Research firm SNL Kagan estimates retransmission fees will reach $3 billion industrywide this year and double to $6 billion by 2018.