CBS (NYSE:CBS) made a public announcement this weekend on its channels that customers connected with the Dish Network could expect a potential blackout from Thursday onwards. It seems that the network in unable to resolve certain issues that stand in the way of its renewal contract. This is one other issue in and ongoing dispute that already blocks Turner contents on the Dish as well as the dispute between AMC and DirecTV, which will show its consequences earlier next year. With all this chaos amid its engagements, it is yet to be seen how the audience will respond to it as we now live in the times where people want to control and enjoy what they pay for on cable. They are no longer bound to see whatever is forced on them. But in this fight of carrier disputes, the two major parties responsible refuse to bend down and put customer satisfaction before theirs. In this case, it’s CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Dish. Dish doesn’t want to pay extra bucks on contents it believes the customer base wouldn’t respond to positively, whereas CBS (NYSE:CBS) being the content creator keeps pushing for it as its survival and future endeavors depend on it.

If this clash between the distributor and content provider took place back in the early 2000, the customers would have been at the losers end, as back then, they didn’t have much choice on what to see and what not or how these distributors and content providers dealt with each other or with them. But the audience of today has much more control and can have a say on how it wants the television business to be run in accordance to their preference.

CBS (NYSE:CBS)’s approach with its audience is by giving them an option to decide on the contents in either live stream or demand format. Making them believe they have a control over what they want to see and when, instead of their cable providers. This might be one of its many tactics to keep the audience hooked. But a similar approach is in play to lure the providers who will eventually also be giving more cash to them. With the situation getting out of hand, it’s best for CBS (NYSE:CBS) to let the customers decide for themselves what they want, instead of taking aggressive actions. Before it’s too late and the customers decide that they have had enough and unite and stand up against the firm. This dispute among the two companies that are, in many ways dependent on each other needs to be settled down before viewers are majorly effected or have to face blackouts. In the process CBS (NYSE:CBS)’s image could fall in the eyes of the viewers and investors. Being the second largest network in the world, the firm needs to buckle up and take control of the situation. Be it through coordination with the distributors or with the help of consumer preferences, either way CBS (NYSE:CBS) needs to decide what’s important and address the issue accordingly.