CBS Ratings Remain Strong Despite Time Warner Dispute

Big Brother (6.80m) was Sunday's #1 entertainment program in adults 18-49 (2.2) and adults 25-54 (2.7). Unforgettable(6.96m) was Sunday's most-watched entertainment program in viewers. For the night, the entire CBS Sunday lineup was even in A18-49 versus last week.

The entire lineup was also up versus the same night last year.60 Minutes (R) was up +26% in viewers, +15% in A25-54 and was unchanged in A18-49. Big Brother was up +18% in viewers, +5% in A18-49 and +8% in A25-54. Big Brother was even in A18-49 versus last week. Unforgettable was up +153% in viewers, +140% in A18-49 and +143% in A25-54 versus the year-ago time period. The Mentalist (R) was up +40% in viewers, +33% in A18-49 and +25% in A25-54. CBS Sports' coverage of the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational Golf Tournament (3.8/9 versus 1.6/3) was up +138% over last year and was the highest-rated final round since 2009.

Ratings in Context of Time Warner Cable Dispute

Time Warner Cable has blacked out CBS stations to 3.2 million of its customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. The influence on the national average is expected to be minimal. Through the first three nights, CBS Research estimates a minor 1% impact. Because of CBS's strong ratings growth this summer, the net effect of the blackout will not present an overall ratings hardship. In addition, August is traditionally one of the lowest months of the year for ratings and advertising revenue, making the overall financial impact of the blackout negligible.