Viewers who use AT&T U-verse or DirecTV to watch CBS, including soaps The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, have found that the station and the shows are no longer on their lineup. What happened, and is the change permanent?
A battle between CBS stations and AT&T-owned DirecTV, DirecTV Now, and U-verse cable systems ensued after carriage contracts between the entities expired on Friday at 11PM PST, which led to the blackout, reports Deadline. Affected markets include New York, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Tampa, Seattle, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, and 117 CBS stations and affiliates on DirecTV Now. In addition, CBS Sports Network has gone dark nationally from DirecTV and DirecTV Now, and Smithsonian Channel is down on DirecTV.
"This is just the latest example in AT&T's long and clear track record of letting its consumers pay the price for its aggressive tactics to get programmers to accept below market terms," CBS said in a statement over the weekend. "While we continue to negotiate in good faith and hope that AT&T agrees to fair terms soon, this loss of CBS programming could last a long time."
AT&T responded with its own version of events via a statement: "CBS is a repeat blackout offender. CBS continues to demand unprecedented increases even as CBS advances content on CBS All Access instead of on its local broadcast stations. CBS has said publicly that it priced All Access much higher to capitalize on customers it can capture from cable, satellite or other means of distribution. In short, CBS is seeking to convert a free, publicly subsidized broadcast station into a high-cost channel while leaving cable and satellite customers holding the bag."
According a post made by the CBS Twitter handle, fans can visit KeepCBS.com to find alternative viewing options and call 1-855-5-KEEP-CBS to tell DirecTV and AT&T U-verse TV to bring back the network.
DirecTV and AT&T U-verse TV customers: DirecTV and AT&T U-verse TV have dropped CBS. Visit https://t.co/eM7iQynZ8X to find alternative viewing options and call 1-855-5-KEEP-CBS to tell DirecTV and AT&T U-verse TV to bring back CBS.
- CBS (@CBS) July 20, 2019
For more information on the battle between CBS, DirecTV, and AT&T U-verse, check out Deadline's full story here.
If you are in an area affected by the blackout, you can use Soap Central's Daily Recaps to keep up with The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Are you one of the viewers affected by the CBS blackout? How are you reacting to the loss of Y&R and B&B? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
