CBS rejects Time Warner Cable's 'a la carte' proposal to end blackout

Yesterday, Time Warner Cable offered a proposal to end their ongoing retransmission fee dispute with CBS and bring the broadcaster's channels back to their subscribers.

CBS has blacked out the channel, along with Showtime and online access to streaming episodes for 5 days in NYC, LA, and other large markets.

Time Warner's proposal was to offer the channels back to customers on an "a la carte" basis, offering CBS as a standalone option for cable subscribers who want it. Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt says the arrangement would "allow customers to decide for themselves how much value they ascribe to CBS programming." The statement clearly shows that Time Warner Cable places little to no value on CBS, at least not at the prices CBS wants for fees.

CBS was not happy with the proposal, calling it a sham. "Today's so-called proposal is a sham, a public relations vehicle designed to distract from the fact that Time Warner Cable is not negotiating in good faith. Anyone familiar with the entertainment business knows that the economics and structure of the cable industry doesn't work that way and isn't likely to for quite some time. In short, this was an empty gesture from a company that is expert at them."

This war will likely not end until football season begins soon and then Time Warner Cable will pay whatever they need to get the programming back.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 6 Aug 2013 10:17

Mysttic

A la carte option should be the only options for any channelled service, at least imo. I don't watch 1 channel every day, truth be told if I could, I'd only order Tree-house and Nickelodeon for my kids and nothing else, as they are the ones that watch tv in the house.

I think CBS is scared that A La Carte would end them, as if they truly believe they had value, they wouldn't fear that as an option.

6.8.2013 12:12 #1

vigeuth

For anyone living within reception range of CBS terrestrial broadcast, this is really a no-brainer....throw up an $20 antennae and enjoy better 720p than cable offers! And not just for CBS, for all network channels, PBS, & more!

I wish cable (I have FIOS) DIDNT include my locals, so I wouldnt pay for something I get for free....they could still offer it as an additional fee for customers out of range, or anyone too lazy to switch the input on their TV (most of America probably). But with such huge cable/satellite market penetration, networks certainly dont want to give us THAT option ($$$$$).

6.8.2013 13:00 #2

SomeBozo

Might be me, but most of the stuff on TV is simply crap, not worth watching, and must less worth paying for at all. I've not watched TV for about 20 years now and honestly don't miss it at all.

6.8.2013 13:21 #3

Mrguss

Originally posted by SomeBozo: Might be me, but most of the stuff on TV is simply crap, not worth watching, and must less worth paying for at all. I've not watched TV for about 20 years now and honestly don't miss it at all. :))) I agree.

The only time I enjoy TV is when I do not see any BS ads & tune the high-end channels 9K+.
The last time I watch regular TV was in 2004. Oh and I care less about any sports: is like leasing to the same song over & over again....

+5000

6.8.2013 14:18 #4

SProdigy

I think the point being missed is, you can't simply throw up an antenna. Maybe for CBS, but not their other properties like Showtime. Same goes for ABC, NBC Universal, etc. This will always be an ongoing battle.

6.8.2013 14:20 #5

Qliphah

Time Warner should not have used their al-la-carte trump card so soon. The majority of their customers probably don't even know the concept, to pay for what you use. Hopefully this will be the begining of people realizing that option.

Oh and the football card isn't going to work to well now that NFL has restricted their fans to nothing more than cattle. I'm speaking of the bans on all items larger than a wallet at every stadium. Hopefully there will be boycots aplenty as people dont like being treated like crminals when they just want to sit on a hard bleacher seat watching a boring sport.

6.8.2013 16:23 #6

gnovak1

I dropped my cable and I run Aereotv (regular channels), Hulu, Netflix which means I have plenty to watch including Baseball and Football etc.

I shaved 102.00 off my bill since cancelling. Let these idiots battle it out if they want. We need to send a message to these people that we are not standing for it. The paying customer suffers the most from this.

7.8.2013 16:56 #7

SomeBozo

Originally posted by gnovak1: I dropped my cable and I run Aereotv (regular channels), Hulu, Netflix which means I have plenty to watch including Baseball and Football etc.

I shaved 102.00 off my bill since cancelling. Let these idiots battle it out if they want. We need to send a message to these people that we are not standing for it. The paying customer suffers the most from this. From time to time if i do want to watch something Amazon prime is great, while selection is somewhat limited.

7.8.2013 16:57 #8

deak91

i think the a-la cart option is the only way to go. CBS is betting on their Nielsen ratings and if the public is given the option to only pay for what they want it would show how wrong the Nielsen ratings are. because it would not be 1 person = 50,000 viewers it would be 1 person = 1 viewer. the true viewership is much is much lower and cbs knows this. if their viewership was as high as they say then a-la cart option would give them more money. of course TWC could just say f CBS and place on all polls that have the cable switch boxes a digital antenna and let it piggy the cable line to the homes. Then if this issue comes up again just pull the channel from the TWC lineup and the viewer can still get the OTA signal. they then could give cbs or any one else the middle finger

7.8.2013 17:04 #9

sssharp

The option to purchase the channels we want would be awesome. My lineup would be filled with channels for my son and just a few more for me and the spouse. No more searching for something to watch(dead time) just watching what we like on our select few.

7.8.2013 18:37 #10

hearme0

First off..........A La Carte is the way it SHOULD be rather than charging us up the ass for every channel under the sun that NOBODY wants!

Second........Something tells me that Time Warner is:

"familiar with the entertainment business"

CBS has an arrogant chip on their shoulder.......Now that problems occurred with TimeWarner and Dish Network.........I'm thinking CBS is the problem here.

8.8.2013 13:48 #11

hearme0

Originally posted by SomeBozo: Might be me, but most of the stuff on TV is simply crap, not worth watching, and must less worth paying for at all. I've not watched TV for about 20 years now and honestly don't miss it at all. Good for you.......you wanna medal for your life achievement of not watching tv and therefore passing your professional opinion that programming is "simply crap"??

If you haven't watched tv, how do you know programming is "crap"???

GO READ A BOOK!!!

8.8.2013 13:50 #12

SomeBozo

Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by SomeBozo: Might be me, but most of the stuff on TV is simply crap, not worth watching, and must less worth paying for at all. I've not watched TV for about 20 years now and honestly don't miss it at all. Good for you.......you wanna medal for your life achievement of not watching tv and therefore passing your professional opinion that programming is "simply crap"??

If you haven't watched tv, how do you know programming is "crap"???

GO READ A BOOK!!! I thought the stuff on tv was getting worse an worse when i stopped watching. Hearing from others that watch it still, easy to have confidence things haven't changed.

From your comment I have to assume you are the type of person that will drink toilet water after a person had taken a dump a toilet to confirm what it taste like, feel free I'd rather not be so stupid, perhaps with your comments i see how you got your brains.

8.8.2013 14:51 #13

SProdigy

Originally posted by Qliphah: Oh and the football card isn't going to work to well now that NFL has restricted their fans to nothing more than cattle. I'm speaking of the bans on all items larger than a wallet at every stadium. Hopefully there will be boycots aplenty as people dont like being treated like crminals when they just want to sit on a hard bleacher seat watching a boring sport. Highly doubtful. The bag restrictions have gotten tighter over the last few years, gradually to the point of getting rid of large purshes and bookbags... and thank God they did! I know it's a veiled "security" threat, but the truth is, I pay for my 18 inches of seat space, I don't need someone's stupid pads or giant bags under my feet and banging at my legs during a game. Bumping a beer is bad enough.

I don't see any fans leaving in droves, as they own seat licenses and also have to buy season tickets yearly, in order to keep the tickets/licenses. With a giant 2nd market value on tickets, no one in their right mind would boycott the games, let alone the live experience... which gets me back on topic: TV. The bag restrictions will have no fallout on the millions that watch at home.

8.8.2013 14:56 #14

laserbiz

I just want to know how to get "Ray Donovan" that is shown on Showtime. Is there a way to get the show even through this stupid blackout? HELP! (Great Show, john Voight Rules!)

9.8.2013 11:31 #15

Mrguss

Originally posted by laserbiz: I just want to know how to get "Ray Donovan" that is shown on Showtime. Is there a way to get the show even through this stupid blackout? HELP! (Great Show, john Voight Rules!) http://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/com...atch_tv_sports/

OR: Use the 10yrs. anniversary TPB new Browser (Tor-FF23):
http://piratebrowser.com/#down/

+5000

10.8.2013 15:03 #16

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