WILL FOOTBALL BRING ABOUT A SETTLEMENT OF CBS BLACKOUT?

While many analysts are predicting that Time Warner Cable and CBS will settle their carriage dispute before the start of the football season, a few are not so sure and are suggesting that the real pressure will come when CBS telecasts of local teams in the affected cities are due to air. Will football fans in those cities switch to satellite or the new Aereo service or install antennas to receive the games over the air? “Football is key to whether people switch [providers], a source close to the talks told today’s (Friday) New York Post. The first CBS-televised game involving a New York team doesn’t take place until Sept. 15 when the Giants play the Denver Broncos. The first involving Dallas does not take place until Oct. 5. Los Angeles, the third major city affected by the CBS blackout, does not have an NFL team.