CBS demands hefty increase from Time Warner Cable for distribution

CBS looks for a substantial increase in its distribution deal with Time Warner Cable for renewal due next month.

TWC's agreement to carry CBS-owned TV stations including KCBS in Los Angeles, the basic cable channels CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian, and the pay network Showtime expired at the end of June. Since then, there have been a couple of extensions, the latest one running to a few days before the end of the month.

CBS is looking for a hefty increase. Chief executive Leslie Moonves has not been shy about making the case that the network should be getting more than popular cable channels.TNT, for example, gets over $1 per-subscriber, per-month, according to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan.

CBS has yet to have a so-called retransmission consent negotiation reach the point where its signal went off a pay-TV distributor because of a contract dispute.

Another component complicating these talks is Showtime. Because it is a premium channel, consumers opt to subscribe to it rather than having to take it as part of their pay-TV package. It is unlikely that Showtime would be yanked along with CBS' other channels as such a move would take money out of both companies' pockets.

Neither side is commenting publicly on the negotiations.

Another distribution deal between TWC and KPSE-TV also failed

"It is unfortunate that Journal Broadcast Group has decided to pull their programming from our customers' lineups," spokesman Dennis Johnson said in a statement. "Journal is demanding more than a 200 per cent increase over previous compensation without delivering more value."

Opposing sides had been negotiating for weeks to reach a deal that would allow Time Warner to continue airing Palm Desert-based KPSE and KMIR, Channel 6, which are owned by Journal Broadcast Group.

KPSE programming was taken off Time Warner at midnight on 10 July 2013, but KMIR cannot be removed during a sweeps period as per Federal Communications Commission rules.

If a deal isn't reached by 24 July when the sweeps period ends, KMIR could also be removed, Johnson said.

Television viewers would still be able to watch KMIR via other cable providers or with antennas.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/international-news/item/2803-cbs-demands-hefty-increase-from-time-warner-cable-for-distribution.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/international-news/item/2803-cbs-demands-hefty-increase-from-time-warner-cable-for-distribution.html