CBS and Time Warner reach an agreement and end the blackout
After a negotiation that involved everything short of biting and scratching, CBS and Time Warner cable have reached a deal, which means a CBS blackout for three million cable customers has ended.
It’s one thing to go without reruns of The Big Bang Theory. It’s another, entirely, to go without the NFL.
The season kicks off this week. And, with the agreement, Time Warner customers will be able to watch games on CBS.
“It did play out the way most people projected that they would play a game of chicken until the NFL season approached and then cut a deal,” says Daniel Kaplan with Sports Business Journal.
And, people love football. Kaplan says fans just wouldn’t put up with a blackout.
But, the deal, in which Time Warner will likely be paying CBS more to carry its programming, isn’t a decisive win.
“It means that we are going to pay higher prices for our cable bills, at least in the short run,” says Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College.
He says that’s because Time Warner is likely to pass the fee hike right along to the rest of us.