Are These TV's Next Big Blackouts?

CBS and Time Warner Cable finally agreed on a new contract, ending a month-long blackout of the network in certain markets. But the deal isn't a fix for what's widely considered a broken TV model, meaning CBS probably won't be the last network to go dark this year as battles between content providers and cable and satellite operators intensify.

There's certainly little rest ahead for Time Warner Cable, whose deals with both Discovery Communications and Viacom expire before the end of the year. It is playing hardball in particular with Viacom -- whose networks include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central but also smaller channels like MTV Jams and Palladia. Cablevision has called out Viacom for the way it wields its portfolio, filing a lawsuit in February that claimed Viacom forced Cablevision to pay for 14 low-rated channels if Cablevision also wanted access to core networks like MTV and Nickelodeon. Refusing to carry those smaller channels would have incurred a $1 billion penalty, Cablevision alleged. Pay-TV operators are also increasingly looking for rights to stream programming to their subscribers over the web -- rights that networks may want to sell elsewhere.