OP-ED: CBS, Time Warner – It’s the Season of Apology

By EDMON J. RODMAN

While the Ten Days of Repentance–the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when Jews are supposed to make amends–is upon us, in TV Land, the two sides embroiled in a near month-long dispute, CBS and Time Warner Cable, are nowhere near to settling their differences.

The argument is over money–how much the cable company will pay to the network to carry their programming. The result of the fight has been that in several major markets including New York, Dallas, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, and Los Angeles–the list reads like an al cheyt–CBS programming for cable subscribers (In L.A. alone, that’s around a million households) has been blacked out.

In this High Holy Day season of apologies and righting wrongs can’t the two media giants make up?

Not that, in our household, we’re major TV fiends, but we do miss “Letterman” and “60 Minutes.” There’s also “The Good Wife,” that we liked watching, and even a creepy tech show, “Person of Interest” about two guys who spy on, then rescue people in imminent danger.

In our daily lives, we have grown accustomed to the “who shall live and who shall die” relationship we have with life, but I am not ready to add a page to the liturgy, and have my TV time fall into the great unknowable as well.

In the coming weeks, instead of the Ten Days of Repentance, CBS and Time Warner should observe a Ten Days of Remittance where they apologize to their viewers, and make amends by sending us programming we might actually like.

For Jewish viewers especially, they have some amending to do. Can’t CBS have one show with a Jewish family in it? This season, ABC is going to have the “Goldbergs,” an updating of the classic 1950’s show. What has CBS got, “The Big Bang Theory,” which has a tiresome stereotypical Jewish mother? And what happened to the fictional Jewish character, Israeli, Ziva David, the Mossad liaison officer on NCIS? Did the network drop her because the actress who plays her, Cote de Pablo, wanted a raise?

In July, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves said about the actress: “We really didn’t want to lose her, we love her. We think she’s terrific. We obviously were in discussions… and ultimately she decided she didn’t want to do the show.” But what might have happened if Moonves just said “I’m sorry”?

Many took pride in seeing her on the show–apparently, she is returning to finish out her story line–but why can’t they do more to keep the character who wears a Star of David on the show?

As for Time Warner, why is it that I have to push so many buttons on the remote to get to the Jewish channel? And why aren’t there more good movies of Jewish interest on “In Demand”? I know your slogan is “Enjoy Better,” but after blacking out CBS for weeks, you owe us the best.

Where’s the exuberant documentary, “Hava Nagilla”? Or the Israeli film “Fill the Void,” about arranged marriages? Can you get us “Afternoon Delight,” a new film about a married Jewish woman’s sexual awakening? And there’s a romantic comedy, “Dorfman in Love,” featuring Elliot Gould, that you should get as well. The film is about change, perfect for the High Holy Day season.

CBS and Time Warner: To everything, especially TV, there is a season. It’s time to reach out, come to terms, and apologize to each other and your viewers. And just so we know that the apology is sincere, can you try to better tune in to the needs of your Jewish viewers?

(Editor’s note: The CBS and Time Warner dispute has been settled.)