What happens when TV viewers are suddenly deprived of access to their favorite shows for reasons outside their control? They turn to the internet, of course–but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll use legal methods to ensure that they don't miss an episode.

Last Friday, Time Warner Cable subscribers in specific markets across the United States – including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Dallas – found themselves unable to tune into CBS and affiliated channels (including Showtime) as the result of an ongoing disagreement between the two companies over the fees TWC would pay to carry CBS networks.

Instead of the channels, all viewers could see was a statement from TWC that explained that "CBS has demanded an outrageous increase for programming that CBS 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." CBS, in a statement, responded by saying that TWC had "conducted negotiations in a combative and non-productive spirit, indulging in pointless brinksmanship and distorted public positioning."

Viewers of new CBS hit Under the Dome didn't seem to be moved by either side's argument, looking elsewhere for ways in which to keep up with the latest episodes of the series. According to the Torrent Freak blog, "In New York City, one of the largest affected markets, the relative piracy rate more than doubled from 1.3 percent of all U.S. downloads last week to 3 percent for the episode that aired after the blackout."

In fact, Under the Dome piracy spiked in each of the areas affected by the TWC blackout, jumping 34 percent from the previous week's episode. This localized increase coincided with a slight drop for the episode in terms of overall downloads for the episode internationally.

As of yesterday, representatives of CBS and Time Warner Cable were back in negotiations, although they were being described as having "gone badly off course" by insiders. In the meantime, it appears that the blackout has compelled many viewers to find alternate sources for their shows, an unintended side effect unlikely to please either party–especially if some of those viewers fail to find their way back to legal distribution after the dispute is resolved.