# CBS and TWC have drawn their lines in the sand. Who's going to blink first? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422 "2013-07-24T21:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/1 "2013-07-24T21:43:18Z")
[CBS and Time Warner Cable don’t like each other.](CBS and Time Warner Cable don’t like each other.) I’m thinking TWC will blink first and raise everybody’s rates. ETA: And Dammit! It’s _Their_ not _there_. (ugh!) ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/2 "2013-07-24T21:43:52Z")
Whoever wins, we lose fucking corporations, man ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/3 "2013-07-24T21:46:42Z")
I wouldn’t care about this in the least except that one of the local CBS affiliates broadcasts some of the Dodger games. That is the ONLY thing I watch on CBS. Beyond that, I’d be happy for both of them to battle themselves into oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/4 "2013-07-24T21:50:18Z")
Yep. The fight with KCAL is the only thing that matters much. I wonder how TWC would react if we all just wrote them and cancelled our cable, switching enmass to Dish? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/5 "2013-07-25T02:37:00Z")
I though TWC meant **The Weather Channel** , and so was baffled as to what you meant! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/6 "2013-07-25T13:49:31Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I though TWC meant **The Weather Channel** , and so was baffled as to what you meant! 😃 I also clicked here to find out why someone was fighting with The Weather Channel. > [@](#): > > Yep. The fight with KCAL is the only thing that matters much. I wonder how TWC would react if we all just wrote them and cancelled our cable, switching enmass to Dish? better: everyone switch to free over the air channels ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/7 "2013-07-25T18:15:48Z")
FSR, linky no worky for me (though perhaps it does for everyone else?). Anyway, googled and found [this](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/25/cbs-twc-delay-deadline-again/2585701/). Can’t say I give a airborne rodentine anus, personally–I don’t watch any network shows, and the the thought of an NFL free winter actually sends me into paroxysms of delight. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/8 "2013-07-25T19:25:18Z")
Fuck Time Warner. I watch a bunch of shows on CBS (yes I actually own a TV and I \*actually \*use it to watch popular shows! How déclassé of me!) and if they take away the network I’ll just watch them through other means. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/9 "2013-08-04T00:10:43Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > [CBS and Time Warner Cable don’t like each other.](CBS and Time Warner Cable don’t like each other.) > > I’m thinking TWC will blink first and raise everybody’s rates. > ETA: And Dammit! It’s _Their_ not _there_. (ugh!) Well damn! No CBS here in Dallas! :mad: Off to Amazon to order a digital antenna!! Bastards!! ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/10 "2013-08-04T00:18:19Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I though TWC meant **The Weather Channel** , and so was baffled as to what you meant! 😃 +1 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/11 "2013-08-04T00:19:50Z")
Seems this happens every year (at least around my area) and nothing ever comes of it. I mean, I’m sure someone pays someone more money or less money or something, but from my end, it’s just a bunch of commercials on TV and the radio and some newspaper ads and then something on TV saying that they settled it and there will be no disruption in service (which they said a few days ago, at least for the Milwaukee area). This happens every. single. year. for one network or another and I’ve never seen one of my channels go dark. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/12 "2013-08-04T02:54:27Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Off to Amazon to order a digital antenna!! FYI, “digital antenna” is just marketing hype and not an actual type of antenna. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/13 "2013-08-04T03:08:11Z")
I heard one analyst say that the content provider generally wins these battles. IDK. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/14 "2013-08-04T03:38:10Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Seems this happens every year (at least around my area) and nothing ever comes of it. I mean, I’m sure someone pays someone more money or less money or something, but from my end, it’s just a bunch of commercials on TV and the radio and some newspaper ads and then something on TV saying that they settled it and there will be no disruption in service (which they said a few days ago, at least for the Milwaukee area). > This happens every. single. year. for one network or another and I’ve never seen one of my channels go dark. Well CBS is dark in New York City right now. And two years ago Cablevision and ABC had the same thing happen and they went off the air for a few days, including the night of the Academy Awards telecast. I’m sure they’ll be back soon, but until then I’m just going to download the shows I want to see online. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/15 "2013-08-04T05:03:08Z")
No CBS and no KCAL-9 and no Showtime here in Los Angeles? Well, I was thinking about switching to DirecTV anyway since TWC’s boxes have maddening interfaces. Thanks for that final push, TWC. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/16 "2013-08-04T05:22:05Z")
I think cable companies (and anybody else) should have the right to redistribute any broadcast television or radio signal within the local market. CBS chooses to run television stations that send out programming for free. IMO that’s a waiver of their right to collect subscription fees from people who watch it, even if the viewers choose to pay someone else to collect the signal centrally rather than put up their own personal antennas. The networks get “must carry” rights that let them force the signal on cable companies even when the station is crappy and unpopular (some nationwide televangelist network recently bought a local independent station in my area just so it could force itself onto basic cable), so the cable companies should get equivalent “may carry” rights. If negotiations on using a better method of transferring the signal\* fall through, the cable company should be allowed to just put up a big antenna across the street and get the channel that way. \*I assume the cable companies don’t normally get local channels over the air, because sometimes a local channel will lose its transmitter in a storm but cable customers can still see it. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/17 "2013-08-04T06:30:57Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > FYI, “digital antenna” is just marketing hype and not an actual type of antenna. I thought one needed a digital antenna to receive over-the-air digital signals? Or is that only the case for those with non-HD TVs? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/18 "2013-08-04T07:50:34Z")
> [@nion](#): > > I thought one needed a digital antenna to receive over-the-air digital signals? Or is that only the case for those with non-HD TVs? You need a digital _tuner_ to receive OTA digital signals, either in your TV (not necessarily an HDTV) or in a converter box. The antenna works the exact same way it did before. Some people did need to get new antennas when the switch happened, but that wasn’t because the old antenna was incapable of receiving digital signals. Marginal reception of an analog broadcast means getting a little snow, but marginal reception of digital means you get either unwatchable random blocks or nothing at all. Also, lots of stations changed from VHF to UHF and changed their transmitter power. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/19 "2013-08-04T08:02:09Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > You need a digital _tuner_ to receive OTA digital signals, either in your TV (not necessarily an HDTV) or in a converter box. The antenna works the exact same way it did before. > > Some people did need to get new antennas when the switch happened, but that wasn’t because the old antenna was incapable of receiving digital signals. Marginal reception of an analog broadcast means getting a little snow, but marginal reception of digital means you get either unwatchable random blocks or nothing at all. Also, lots of stations changed from VHF to UHF and changed their transmitter power. Then why are outdoor [HDTV antenna’s configured completely differently](https://www.google.com/search?q=outdoor+hdtv+antenna&num=100&client=firefox-a&hs=8gu&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ei=UQn-UZOdCcnYrQGXhoGYCA&ved=0CAsQ_AUoAw&biw=1048&bih=688)? Because the signal is broadcast on a different frequencies - isn’t it? [VHF was used for most network tv while now HDTV uses the old UHF channels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_broadcast_television_frequencies). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422/20 "2013-08-04T08:59:39Z")
Because it looks cool, I guess. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-and-twc-have-drawn-their-lines-in-the-sand-whos-going-to-blink-first/664422.md?page=2)