Neil Hughes
A contract dispute between CBS and Time Warner Cable has prevented millions of customers not only from viewing CBS channels on their television set, but also through the network's official applications for iPad and iPhone.
The dispute caused Time Warner to block CBS and Showtime networks over the weekend. CBS responded in kind, and blocked Time Warner Cable Internet subscribers from streaming its programming from its website.
But that IP ban also extends to the official iOS applications from CBS. Even though CBS is available free over the air, Time Warner customers who attempt to stream shows through the CBS application for iOS are presented with a video urging them to call their cable provider and side with the network.
"Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS," a 45-second video airing in place of content proclaims. "That means no 'Under the Dome,' no 'Big Brother,' no 'NCIS,' no NFL, or PGA Championship, or US Open Tennis. No 'Big Bang Theory,' no '60 Minutes.' Say no to Time Warner Cable."
The outage also extends to Showtime, which includes the original series "Dexter," "Ray Donovan," and "Homeland." And it includes Bright House Networks, a major regional cable operator that partners with Time Warner.
The current blackout is said to affect about 3 million Time Warner Cable customers in major markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston and Dallas. Among the events blocked was Tiger Woods' commanding victory at the Bridgestone Invitational.
In addition, the start of National Football League preseason football is this week, and CBS owns the broadcast rights to the league's American Football Conference teams, such as the New England Patriots and New York Jets.
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30 Comments
Screw cable and satellite TV. My antenna works better than both.
That CBS is blocking TimeWarner internet customers from accessing their website seems to flaunt the spirit of Net Neutrality. Not all TW customers actually subscribe to TV programming, some only subscribe to internet. To suggest that an ISP is responsible for some kind of payment to a content provider is absurd, and contrary to the way the internet has been working since inception. Does CBS block access from .edu IP addresses, unless the institution pays a fee? I think not. This is absolutely wrong of CBS. They think they're being clever, but they are acting unethically and possibly illegally, IMO.
Screw cable and satellite TV. My antenna works better than both.
Completely irrelevant. If you were a TimeWarner customer, CBS would be trying to block your antenna from working too. But your neighbor who gets internet through a phone company DSL is allowed to watch CBS, even if they have TimeWarner television service. CBS is discriminating based upon your ISP, and that should be illegal.
It's mafia-like in this respect. It's like your auto mechanic refusing to service your vehicle because you bought gas from Chevron instead of Citgo. Or your grocery store refusing you entry because you dared to shop at Walmart last week.
PS: I won't do business with TimeWarner either, and I too have a nifty antenna that works. But now I'm going to BOYCOTT CBS because of their action. Good bye, advertisers.
Wow. NFL is already starting? As a Dallas fan... I hadn't been exactly counting the days :)
I wonder how more time its going to take for the TV and Movie industry and the Cable industry before they realize they are screwed just like the music guys were back in early 2000's.
Physical media sales are down, video rental stores are almost all closed, lots of blockbusters are not making there cost at Theaters. Some of the renting went to cable on demand and other internet offering, but the size of bittorrent movies and TV shows is no longer an issue for home bandwidth.
Cable is getting competition from DSL over lived TV. People are getting used to stream pre-recorded content from the internet instead of watching live TV.
That market is going straigh to a major crisis.