You don’t see this everyday: Time Warner Cable rival DirecTV issued a statement 8/3 applauding Time Warner Cable’s decision to drop CBS programming from its lineup in multiple markets after the two failed to reach an agreement over retransmission fees. DirecTV had its own blackout last summer where 20 million customers lost access to Viacom channels such as MTV and Nickelodeon for 10 days.
“DirecTV has certainly had its share of these battles, so we applaud Time Warner Cable for fighting back against exorbitant programming cost increases,” the company said in a statement. “We are also appalled to learn that CBS is now punishing DIRECTV customers, who may happen to have Time Warner as their Internet provider, by denying them access to CBS content online,” the company said, saying the efforts of content companies to extract “outrageous fees” from distributors may have reached “a new low.”
A source familiar with the CBS negotiating strategy told Reuters on Friday the company had offered to extend current terms and keep negotiating in the coming days, adding that no new talks between the sides are scheduled.
