Time Warner drops CBS, then halts decision

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The fee dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS Corp. took an odd turn when the cable giant announced it was turning off the broadcaster in three major cities, then quickly reversed the decision.

The two sides negotiated through the day Monday to avoid a programming blackout. Both parties kept extending the deadline before the cable provider appeared to replace regular programming on the network with a company statement for a brief, undetermined amount of time.

Around 9 p.m. PDT, Time Warner Cable said about 3 million customers in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas would lose the network and four CBS cable stations because of "outrageous demands for fees" by CBS.

"We offered to pay reasonable increases, but CBS's demands are out of line and unfair — and they want Time Warner Cable to pay more than others pay for the same programming," Time Warner Cable said in a statement.

CBS countered, saying that it remained firm in getting fair compensation for its programming. It accused Time Warner Cable of having a "short-sighted, anti-consumer strategy."

Not long after the two sides traded barbs, Time Warner Cable said it halted its plans to drop CBS at the broadcaster's request.

CBS said both sides have agreed to continue negotiations.