The CBS blackout in homes with Time Warner Cable ended in early September. But the damage from the feud is still being tallied up — and it may be lasting.

On Thursday, Time Warner Cable reported the steepest quarterly loss of television subscribers in its history, which it partly attributed to the monthlong battle it began with the CBS Corporation in August over fees. When the third quarter wrapped up at the end of September, Time Warner Cable had shed 306,000 of its 11.7 million TV subscribers — a loss even worse than the company had anticipated.

The results underscored, to a degree rarely seen before, the damage that can be done when distributors and programmers publicly feud over contracts. They also offer vivid evidence that content has the upper hand in disputes with distributors.

The disappointing quarter comes amid continued questions about the short- and long-term health of cable television amid ever more serious competition from Internet streaming services. The incumbents have held up remarkably well — only a small fraction of American homes have stopped paying for monthly TV subscriptions in the last few years.