As frustrating as CBS stations going dark on Time Warner Cable in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas may be for the 3.2 million customers affected, it hasn't made a noticeable impact on the network's ratings in its first week of the blackout.
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The ongoing carriage dispute, which has also seen cable networks Showtime, TMC, Flix and Smithsonian blocked, has been going on for seven days -- and CBS has only seen a 0.2 percent drop in total viewers. Among adults 18-49, the network is unchanged from its performance during the previous week.
CBS, which airs a significant portion of repeats in the off months, has still been showing originals of summer scripted hit Under the Dome and three weekly outings of reality flagship Big Brother. This weekend the network is set to cover the final rounds of the PGA Championship.
Compared to last summer, CBS is actually in better shape -- though this time last year it was contending with NBC's wall-to-wall coverage of the summer Olympic Games in London. Still, CBS is up 38 percent in total viewers and 33 percent in both of the adults 18-49 and 25-54 demographics.
The blackout's problems for cable, particularly the premium networks, remain a lesser issue. And Showtime's most popular summer programming, Dexter and Ray Donovan, did not suffer in their lone broadcasts since the network went dark.
