If you are a Time Warner Cable subscriber and were hoping to catch pro golf or "48 Hours" on Channel 2 today, you better make other plans.
The cable giant pulled the plug on CBS at the 5 p.m. deadline yesterday in New York and other key markets after failing to reach an agreement with the top prime-time network, seen in the metro area on WCBS/Channel 2.
"Effective 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and several other markets," CBS said in a statement. "We deeply regret this ill-advised action, which is injurious not only to our many affected viewers, but also to Time Warner Cable itself."
Time Warner issued its own harsh reply in a statement shown on what would normally be Channel 2.
"CBS has made outrageous demands for the programming that it delivers free over the air and online, requiring us to remove their stations from your lineup while we continue to negotiate for fair and reasonable terms," Time Warner said.
The move means that local viewers could miss programs including the Stephen King-inspired summer smash "Under the Dome," "CSI" and "Big Brother 15."
Viewers were furious over the interruption.
"No more 'Big Bang Theory.' I can't believe they pulled the plug!" fumed Dramane Brown, 36, an architect from Williamsburg.
"There are too many good shows on CBS. What about CSI?" griped Josh Woerthwein, 39, a business analyst from Jersey City.
Time Warner also said it would remove the CBS-owned Showtime cable channel, home to popular series such as "Homeland,'' along with other channels owned by the network.
The companies are feuding over their carriage-contract renew, over the fees that cable and satellite providers pay TV stations to air programming.
CBS wants Time Warner to fork over more than the cable company is willing to cough up.
The contract between the two expired on June 30, but they had been negotiating for an extension up until yesterday's deadline.
Insiders say Time Warner pays CBS about 88 cents a month for each TW subscriber, but the network is looking for a fee of up to $2 per subscriber.
The Time Warner message pointed viewers to other options, such as rabbit-ear antennae and CBS.com and even the Barry Diller-backed Aereo, a service that draws down network signals and delivers them to mobile devices.
catkinson@nypost.com
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