Time Warner Cable Says It Lost Customers in Blackout

Time Warner Cable Chief Operating Officer Rob Marcus said the cable operator lost customers as a result of the recent month-long blackout of CBS’s programming on its systems in some major markets.

Marcus said the blackout, which ended Sept. 2, suppressed sign-ups of new customers and "increased disconnects of existing customers." He declined to provide a specific figure on the customer losses. He said the cable operator incurred costs during the dispute as it added replacement programming and gave out freebies to customers such as antennae to pick up over-the-air broadcasts and gift cards. "While those are short-term hits that are not insignificant, we felt that it was justified based on the goal of achieving longer-term objectives," Marcus said. "We ended up in a much better" place, he said.