Mexican Standoff: Time Warner/Brighthouse and CBS/Showtime

It's a Mexican standoff between TWC and CBS

It's a Mexican Standoff between Time Warner Cable (Brighthouse) and CBS which owns Showtime.  And the third party in this standoff is the viewers.

The latest update to the news on the negotiations is that Time Warner and CBS are talking again.  The remaining issue to be settled is digital rights. It is possible that the Federal Communications Commission could get involved.  However, the FCC can only enter the fray if one side files a complaint that the other side is not negotiating in good faith.  It has been 12 days since the blackout began on August 2 and neither party has filed a complaint.

The predictions that I am reading is that this won't be settled until the start of football season.  Football season starts September 5th.

I'm not standing for it any longer.  I'm a Time Warner customer (TV, internet, and phone) and yesterday I made the call and switched. It's inconvenient to switch, but I will save about $35 a month, probably  because new subscribers get offered a promotional rates. I also got whole house DVR for no extra cost.  (Brighthouse wanted an extra $25 or $35 for this service.)  My price quote is locked in for two years.

Now, I just have to hope that my new cable provider doesn't get involved in a dispute next year.

If you decide to switch, you have plenty of choices, Century Link Prism, Xfinity, AT&T, Comcast, DirecTV, and probably others. Look into it.  You might see a big reduction in your monthly costs like I did.

 Once upon a time cable TV and telephone service was a monopoly. How nice that we now have a choice and can switch if we are not getting good service. 

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Learn how to contact CBS Showtime on my August 9 post.

Update: The dispute is over and Showtime and CBS are back on Time Warner Cable as of Monday September 2nd at 3 pm.