CBS Corp. and AT&T Inc. traded blame Wednesday for a contract dispute that has kept more than 6 million people from access to the most-watched TV network in the U.S.
CBS said it's "absolutely" ready and willing to negotiate with the carrier after its programming was blacked out on AT&T's pay-TV services last week, a response to comments from AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson. Stephenson said earlier Wednesday that his company made a "reasonable and fair offer five days ago and it's been crickets. We haven't heard anything."
CBS went off the air for AT&T customers in more than a dozen U.S. cities last weekend because of an impasse over how much the telecommunications giant should pay for the network's programming. AT&T's U-verse and DirecTV customers in Los Angeles and New York can't watch CBS' news, live sports or late-night talk, nor can they sample summer shows.
Disputes between networks and pay-TV operators have become more common as more customers have abandoned cable and satellite packages. There have been 230 blackouts this year, up from eight in 2010, according to the American Television Alliance, a trade group for cable and satellite services.
The disputes tend to resolve themselves when must-see programming appears, such as National Football League games in the fall. CBS will begin airing NFL preseason games in August and will release its slate of new prime-time shows in September.
Business on 07/25/2019