Time Warner Cable said it will offer
digital customers in markets where CBS is blacked out a free preview of Tennis
Channel, which will be covering parts of the U.S. Open, a big event CBS will
be broadcasting.
Time
Warner Cable and CBS are locked in a battle over retransmission fees and
digital program rights that have left about 3 million subscribers without
access to CBS affiliates for almost three weeks.
Some
analysts have speculated that when big sporting events-including the U.S. Open
and NFL football start to air on CBS-the pressure from subscribers will
force Time Warner Cable to make a deal.
"We
appreciate our customers' patience as we work to resolve the blackout with
CBS," Mike
Angus, Time Warner Cable senior VP and General Manager, Video, said in a
statement. "We know the U.S. Open is
popular programming. We're
pleased to be able to offer additional programming via Tennis Channel to
customers affected by this dispute. A lot of the matches will also still be
available to customers via ESPN2 and CBS Sports Network." Tennis
Channel will have close to 240 hours of U.S. Open coverage, including 75 hours
of live coverage - featuring exclusive prime-time matches Labor Day weekend -
with daily preview and highlight shows.
Tennis Channel is normally on a
sports tier at Time Warner Cable, and not available to digital basic
subscribers.
Tennis fans
will also be able to watch more than 200 US Open matches live for free via US
Open Live on www.usopen.org. Finals weekend matches will be available for free via the US Open Live
app, which will be available to Android and iPhone users that weekend.
In response to Time Warner Cable's announcement, the broadcaster said in a statement: "The only way to watch CBS' coverage of the U.S. Open on television is on CBS."
