PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID SWANN / DSWANN@STARADVERTISER.COM
Cable channels Showtime
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Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix, the Smithsonian Channel and CBS Primetime on Demand have been dropped by Oceanic Time Warner Cable in a dispute with CBS Corp.
Time Warner Cable systems around the country dropped the cable channels, as well as network-affiliated broadcast stations owned by CBS, beginning at 11 a.m. Hawaii time Friday.
A Tuesday deadline was extended until 5 p.m. Eastern time Friday, but the cable and broadcast giants failed to reach a retransmission consent agreement, leading to the removal of the CBS-owned programming from the cable system.
Time Warner Cable blasted the network for demanding a 600 percent increase in what it pays to retransmit the broadcast programming and the programming on CBS-owned cable channels.
CBS denied the 600-percent demand claim, calling it "fictional and ridiculous."
Separately, DISH Network subscribers in Hawaii lost programming from KGMB-TV, KHNL-TV and KFVE-TV at 7:55 p.m. Wednesday in another retransmission consent dispute between DISH and Raycom Media, the Alabama-based owner of KGMB and KHNL, which also operates KFVE under a shared services agreement. Raycom stations have been pulled from the DISH Network in 36 U.S. markets.
There is no indication as to when either dispute might be resolved.
About 85 percent of Hawaii television viewers depend on cable for television service, while direct broadcast satellite providers DISH Network and DirecTV split about 9 percent of the market. Only about 5 percent of Hawaii’s TV viewers receive programming over the air with no monthly subscription.
GONE DARK
>> CBS Primetime on Demand offers on-demand viewing of the network’s prime-time programming, including “Hawaii Five-0.”
>> Showtime offers popular TV series “Dexter,” “Homeland” and “Ray Donovan.”
>> The Movie Channel and Flix show movies.
>> The Smithsonian Channel has shows themed around air and space, science, nature, culture, history and more.
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