Time Warner Cable Will Restore CBS Temporarily For Political Debates

The ongoing spat between Time Warner Cable and CBS has dragged on for a couple of weeks now, as predicted by sources earlier this month. Although a permanent solution still has not been proposed, the two companies have entered a temporary cease-fire and CBS will be restored to Time Warner Cable for a little while. The reason? To ensure New York residents have ample access to upcoming political debates.

After months of negotiations, Time Warner Cable and CBS failed to agree on certain fees, the end result being the cable service provider's decision to drop CBS from many of its big markets, among them being in New York. As a result, CBS decided to block Time Warner subscribers from accessing full streaming videos on its website. Sources had spoken up earlier this year saying it was expected an end to the issue would take a couple weeks at least.

The blackout left millions of Time Warner subscribers without access to CBS, something that thus far has seemed to do little more than cause piracy of select shows to increase. New York City's Campaign Finance Board had other concerns, however – decreased access for residents to upcoming political debates, something that prompted the group's board to petition the two companies to call a truce.

Such was the case, with officials issuing a statement this afternoon to the WSJ saying that CBS will be temporarily restored. Thus far, tomorrow night's debate will be accessible to residents on WCBS, and if a permanent solution isn't achieved by the next debate to air on CBS, the blackout will again be lifted.

Said Campaign Finance Board Chairman Joseph Parkes: "With vacancies in all three citywide offices, this election will decide the future of the city we all share and love. We are very pleased that these two institutions have chosen to look past their differences and provide all New Yorkers the best opportunity to see these important debates."

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal

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