Blacked out! Time Warner pulls plug for millions on top CBS shows

CBS spelled it out in an angry statement, "Effective 5:00 PM Eastern Time, Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and several other markets. We deeply regret this ill-advised action, which is injurious not only to our many affected viewers, but also to Time Warner Cable itself."

The two sides have been negotiating fees. CBS said they agreed to an extension on Tuesday morning "with the expectation that we would engage in a meaningful negotiation with CBS," - but that didn't happen.

Time Warner Cable had a statement, too. They said CBS had "refused to have a productive discussion. "

"It's become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they're not willing to come to reasonable terms."

The companies are seeking to extend their contract for retransmission fees, the money that cable and satellite TV providers pay TV station owners for the right to carry their signals.

The contract expired at the end of June but the network was kept on the cable company's lineup as the talks continued. They've set numerous deadlines in the last month that were continuously delayed.

Without a contract in place, the companies have said, the network would be dropped for TWC customers in eight markets nationwide. RBC Capital Markets, an investment bank, estimates CBS gets paid about 88 cents per cable subscriber per month for retransmission rights.

TWC has said CBS wants to raise the fee as much as 600%, though it says that figure is based on an average fee it pays for all CBS stations in service areas.

Without revealing specific numbers, CBS said fees from cable companies should be in line with the popularity of its shows - including NCIS, Under the Dome, The Big Bang Theory, 60 Minutes - and denied that it's looking for a 600% increase.

"Our requests are far more reasonable and well in line with what the industry is paying for content," the network said in a separate statement.