Time Warner CBS Blackout Ends After A Month Of Squabbling

A Time Warner CBS blackout has finally ended, as the two major names in television came to an agreement after a month of back and forth bickering over license agreements.

The Time Warner CBS blackout affected millions of homes that had been blacked out from the network’s content during the month-long debacle, stemming from a disagreement over the cost of content.

The Time Warner CBS blackout hit several of the cable provider’s major markets in the US, ending at 6 PM Monday after the deal was reached.

CBS CEO Les Moonves said in a statement emailed to network employees that the service was finally set to resume, adding:

“The final agreements with Time Warner Cable deliver to us all the value and terms that we sought in these discussions… This has been a difficult time for our viewers and for CBS. I am glad it’s behind us. It’s good to be back.”

Pressure mounted as football season rapidly approached, with a New York Giants game scheduled for September 15 that would have been unavailable to subscribers affected by the blackout.

TIME reported earlier that the companies had no qualms about slinging mud during the lengthy blackout, and CBS emailed the mag with a statement on an early offer from Time Warner:

“Today’s so-called proposal is a sham, a public relations vehicle designed to distract from the fact that Time Warner Cable is not negotiating in good faith… Anyone familiar with the entertainment business knows that the economics and structure of the cable industry doesn’t work that way and isn’t likely to for quite some time. In short, this was an empty gesture from a company that is expert at them.”

During the Time Warner CBS dispute, Moonves had also stated that the network was at “war with Time Warner Cable.”