CBS, Time Warner Cable Agree to New Extension in Retrans Standoff

CBS and Time Warner Cable have agreed to take a little more time to hammer out an agreement in the retransmission dispute that threatens to remove CBS and Showtime from homes in Los Angeles, New York and Texas.

The two parties have agreed to extend their negotiations through July 29 at 5 p.m. ET. In previous standoffs between networks and cable companies over compensation for station signals, extensions have generally meant neither side wants to push the dispute to the point where cable customers lose access to channels. The negotiations initially had a deadline of July 24, but that deadline was extended until 9 a.m. ET July 25, due to Federal Communications Commission rules that bar cable providers from dropping a network during sweeps periods. The potential blackout would affect 3.5 million homes, approximately 29 percent of Time Warner Cable's video subscriptions.