CBS blinks, leaves table empty handed: network gives up on getting cash for signals or carriage of new cable channel. (retransmission consent)

Broadcasting & Cable, October, 1993 by Flint, Joe

Network gives up on getting cash for signals or carriage of new cable channel CBS threw in the towel in its fight for retransmission consent and granted cable operators a year-long extension to carry its seven owned stations on their systems for free. The decision by CBS ends - at least temporarily - a long battle that saw the network's victory in Washington one year ago this week turn into a bitter defeat in the marketplace.

Retransmission consent was a provision of the 1992 Cable Act. "I deeply regret that this important piece of legislation, which held so much promise for the future of free broadcasting, has not yet worked as intended," CBS Chairman Laurence Tisch said in a statement. After holding out for cash longer than any of its...

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