CBS to lose at least $400K per day from Time Warner blackout

Credit: CBS

The Time Warner blackout is becoming a black eye for the networks it's affecting.

Deadline is reporting that financial analysts have been making estimates that put CBS's losses in the six figures. The damage from the lost ad revenue and retransmission consent fees totals out to roughly $400,000 per day. While CBS could likely make $400,000 off of one ad break during The Big Bang Theory or NCIS, but the fact remains that this isn't exactly loose change, especially when it's accruing on a daily basis.

However, UBS Investment Research analyst John Janedis insists the $400,000 a day loss will ultimately be “minimal” for CBS, saying that the failure to reach an agreement with Time Warner Cable over programming fees was "all but inevitable," since retransmission consent deals usually last five years or more, and CBS "can’t afford to take below market value given the inability to renegotiate terms." Janedis urges CBS investors not to worry, and has reiterated his "buy" recommendation for CBS stock, citing that the likely cost will amount to a penny per share for every two weeks — and “if history is a guide, this should be resolved in less than two weeks.” Janedis notes that there was “little impact on the stock price” in recent cases where a programmer’s channels went dark on a pay TV system. “Our view continues to be that consumers have more loyalty to the content rather than the company which is responsible for distribution.”

We'll see if that theory bears out as we get closer to fall premiere dates with no CBS for Time Warner Cable subscribers.