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Legislation isn't pending, but lawmakers and lobbyists are considering folding new retransmission rules into a bill required to renew the license of satellite TV operators DirecTV and Dish by the end of 2014. Hearings on the matter are likely to start up around late September, according to ATVA spokesman Brian Frederick. "Our video laws need updating now more than ever," he said. Consumer outrage over the blackout has been similar to past disputes, according to Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff. The company has been offering pro-rated rebates to the some 2.5 million Time Warner Cable subscribers who pay extra for CBS-owned Showtime, which has also been blacked out during the fight. For the time being, the cable operator has replaced CBS with programming from Starz Kids and Family. With so many blackouts at so many different TV operators, including the satellite players, switching providers might not help. "People understand increasingly that switching is not the answer," said Time Warner Cable's Huff. "If you switch to another provider, they're going to face the same situation the next time they're up with CBS." Customers could be getting desensitized to blackouts because they occur so frequently. And the level of outrage might be muted because the fight is occurring during the summer, when networks don't debut many new shows. Besides CBS's new hit, "Under the Dome," which it premiered in June thanks to a special arrangement for exclusive online access on Amazon.com, subscribers only missed new episodes Sunday night of Showtime's "Dexter," in its eighth and final season, as well as "Ray Donovan," a Showtime series that began in June. That's not the same as missing an NFL regular season football game, or even a preseason game, which won't air on CBS until Aug. 23. "Viewers are outside in the sun," said Laura Martin, a media industry analyst with investment bank Needham & Co. "If CBS was in the middle of its prime-time schedule, they would be much more annoyed." But the wide array of online viewing options is not an effective substitute for the programs that CBS offers, especially its live sports offerings, including golf, Martin and other industry observers said. Acknowledging the greater number of viewers who watch TV shows online, CBS took the unusual move of blocking video access on its apps and website to people who get their Internet service from Time Warner Cable, including those who get TV packages from other providers. Even though millions of Time Warner Cable subscribers couldn't see Tiger Woods claim his eighth victory at the Firestone Country Club on Sunday, industry watchers said that wasn't as important as NFL football, which has its first regular season games on CBS on Sept. 8. It's unlikely that Time Warner Cable will drag out the dispute that long, said analyst Moffett. "The closer we get to football season, the more the leverage shifts to CBS," Moffett said. "Once the football season begins, it's game set and match in CBS's favor."
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