CBS channels have been missing from Time Warner Cable for a full month now, but the companies have finally solidified a deal. In a press release, the companies report that they've reached a retransmission agreement, and CBS programming will return to all affected Time Warner Cable networks by 6PM Eastern today. In addition to traditional CBS channels, the deal will also reinstate content from Showtime, The Smithsonian Channel, and CBS Sports Network - just in time for the real NFL football kickoff this weekend.

For Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, the deal will also include a new feature: access to Showtim …

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Time Warner Cable is offering a last-ditch solution to customers as its blackout on CBS channels continues. Today, the company said it would distribute antennas to Time Warner Cable subscribers in four markets, allowing them to watch CBS as an over-the-air broadcast instead of through their cable boxes. "We regret that CBS has put our customers in this position by continuing to withhold its channels," it said in an email to customers, published by Variety. "We are trying to strike a balance between our desire to restore the channels as soon as possible and our responsibility to all of our customers to hold down the rising cost of TV."

Handi …

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The NFL preseason kicked off last night, a joyous occasion for football-starved fans around the country - but also a potentially troubling and frustrating event if you're one of the millions of customers caught in the ongoing spat between CBS and Time Warner Cable. It's a battle over how much TWC should pay CBS for the right to retransmit its content, but all that really matters if you're a football fan is that you might not be able to get your fix.

Most preseason games are carried by local networks, including CBS affiliates in New York and Los Angeles, which means millions of customers throughout this first weekend of action will miss seei …

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Time Warner Cable internet customers are smarting from CBS' decision to block them from viewing shows online, but they have at least one supporter in Congress. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has written to acting FCC chair Mignon Clyburn, asking her agency to investigate the blackout. The letter, published in full at the LA Times, urges the FCC to help broker a deal between the two companies, which have been feuding over the cost of carrying CBS channels. "I encourage both parties to remain engaged in good faith negotiations," he writes, "and I also request that the Commission take action to bring the parties together so these negotiations can be …

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The showdown between CBS and Time Warner Cable is now being waged by CEOs. In a letter addressed to CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves, Time Warner Cable chairman Glen Britt says the cable provider is ready to resume broadcasting the network's channels "with the new economics TWC reluctantly agreed to" in recent negotiations. Other terms from their previous contracts would carry over to this new deal. "Since both parties have lived under those terms productively for many years, we believe we should continue to live with them in the interest of restoring CBS immediately for the benefit of consumers."

Britt said the three magic words

If CBS …

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