Why No CBS Channels on Bright House Cable?

A stalled contract negotiation with CBS Corporation has resulted in CBS programming being pulled from Bright House Networks line-up. 

The cable company serves customers in Farmington and Farmington Hills. In response to customer inquiries, Bright House Networks' Twitter feed shared a link on its website directing them to this message: 

"As of 4:59 p.m. ET on August 2, 2013, our agreement with CBS Corporation has expired. Channels affected include WWJ (CBS) and WKBD (The CW) in Detroit, WTOG (The CW) in Tampa, and KCAL in Bakersfield, as well as Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix, Smithsonian, and CBS Primetime On Demand in all markets. It is important for our customers to know that we carry hundreds of channels – and agreements are being negotiated and renewed all the time. Normally, these situations eventually get resolved – we believe this to be a temporary situation."

According to a report posted by Variety, an entertainment industry publication, the problem actually stems from negotiations between Time Warner Cable and CBS Corporation. The report explained that Bright House "has an arrangement with the larger operator to piggyback on its programming deals."

The conflict involves retransmission fees; cable operators say CBS Corporation has asked for an exorbitant increase, CBS argues it has been underpaid for years.