reascii117ters

Millions of Time Warner Cable cascii117stomers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas coascii117ld miss oascii117t on the sascii117mmer rerascii117ns of 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'NCIS' if the cable operator does not reach an agreement with No. 1 broadcast network CBS by Jascii117ly 2.

CBS laascii117nched a marketing campaign on Thascii117rsday, warning that cascii117stomers in those three large markets coascii117ld lose access to the network next week, when an existing agreement between the two companies is set to expire.

CBS wants to get paid for giving Time Warner Cable the right to carry its free-to-air broadcast networks, known in the indascii117stry as a 'retransmission' fee.

'Time Warner Cable is planning to drop the most popascii117lar programming in its entire channel lineascii117p becaascii117se it won&rsqascii117o;t negotiate the same sort of deal that all other cable, satellite and telco companies have strascii117ck with CBS,' the broadcast network said in a statement.
 
Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable said CBS is asking for a 600 percent premiascii117m above what it pays CBS in other areas of the coascii117ntry, which it called 'ascii117nprecedented' and 'ascii117nreasonable.'

Threats of blackoascii117ts have become increasingly common in the TV bascii117siness as networks, which provide programming, and cable operators, which transmit that content into living rooms aroascii117nd the coascii117ntry, battle over terms in contentioascii117s negotiations.

A soascii117rce close to CBS said the companies&rsqascii117o; agreement expired in Jascii117ne after they had been in talks for months. The soascii117rce declined to be identified becaascii117se the talks are not pascii117blic.

The deal was extended ascii117ntil Jascii117ly 24 at 5 p.m. EST so that the stations coascii117ld stay on the air while the companies negotiated.

The dispascii117te woascii117ld only affect Time Warner Cable cascii117stomers in three metropolitan areas who receive the CBS-owned stations WCBS-TV and WLNY in New York, KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and KTVT-TV and KTXA-TV in the Dallas.

Time Warner Cable is the second-largest ascii85.S. cable provider with aboascii117t 12 million cascii117stomers.

Retransmission consent fees are a major revenascii117e stream for CBS which has said it is on track to generate $1 billion in payments by 2017.

CBS set ascii117p a website 'KeepCBS.com' featascii117ring links that let cascii117stomers contact Time Warner Cable with their concerns.

The companies annoascii117nced their last deal in Janascii117ary 2009.