Time Warner, CBS reach deal to end blackout

Three million viewers around the country will once again have access to CBS and Showtime programming after the network finally settled a bitter dispute with Time Warner Cable over re-transmission fees.

The two communications giants said Monday that customers in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and other parts of the country would have their CBS and Showtime channels restored.

“This was a far more protracted dispute than anyone at CBS anticipated," network president Les Moonves said in a statement.

But in spite of the pain it caused to all of us, and most importantly the inconvenience to our viewers who were affected, it was an important one, and one worth pursuing to a satisfactory conclusion. That has been achieved. The final agreements with Time Warner Cable deliver to us all the value and terms that we sought in these discussions. We are receiving fair compensation for CBS content and we also have the ability to monetize our content going forward on all the new, developing platforms that are right now transforming the way people watch television.

TWC CEO Glenn Britt seemed less pleased with the terms of the agreement.

We’re pleased to be able to restore CBS programming for our customers, and appreciate their patience and loyalty throughout the dispute. As in all of our negotiations, we wanted to hold down costs and retain our ability to deliver a great video experience for our customers. While we certainly didn’t get everything we wanted, ultimately we ended up in a much better place than when we started.

The disagreement started early last month when CBS and Time Warner Cable failed to agree on a price for its content. When TWC refused to pay what it saw as an unreasonable price increase, CBS cut the cable company's access to its programming. The dispute then moved into further disagreement over issues like online availability and and mobile rights.

With football season and U.S. Open finals approaching, both sides began to tone down their heated rhetoric. According to Deadline, CBS received their requested price increase, while TWC subscribers got more access to online content.