Read about it here:
LOS ANGELES 鈥?"SpongeBob SquarePants" may be getting squeezed off of Time Warner Cable.
Media giant Viacom Inc. said its Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark for 13 million subscribers at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a new carriage fee deal with Time Warner Cable is not agreed upon by then.
The impasse would mean "SpongeBob" and other popular shows like Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" and Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report" will be cut off, said spokesman Alex Dudley, a vice president at Time Warner Cable. The nation's second-largest cable operator primarily serves customers in New York state, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and Texas.
Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel, an amount that could increase customers' cable bills, Dudley said. Viacom spokeswoman Kelly McAndrew said the requested increase was in the very low double-digit percentage range.
"The issue is that they have asked for an exorbitant increase in their carriage fees and their network ratings are sagging," Dudley said. "Basically we're trying to hold the line for our customer."
Viacom said the increases would cost an extra 23 cents a month per subscriber 鈥?which works out to $35.9 million more in total. It said that Americans spend a fifth of their TV time watching Viacom shows but its fees make up less than 2.5 percent of the Time Warner cable bill.
"We make this request because Time Warner Cable has so greatly undervalued our channels for so long," it said.
"Ultimately, however, if Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and the rest of our programming is discontinued 鈥?over less than a penny per day 鈥?we believe viewers will see this behavior by their cable company as outrageous," it said.
Negotiations are continuing at the highest level, Dudley said.
Viacom accused Time Warner Cable of not negotiating.
"It is our sincere hope that they will come to the table and negotiate a deal," said McAndrew. The network operator also intends to tell viewers about the dispute in TV ads in 11 major markets.
Part of the disagreement is that most of the popular shows are rerun on Web sites where Viacom collects advertising revenue that it does not share with Time Warner, Dudley said.
"We don't think that's fair," he said. "They're trying to have their cake and eat it too online, where anybody can get it for free."
Viacom has staked much of its revenue-growth prospects on its ability to extract higher carriage rates out of its cable and satellite affiliates despite an ad slowdown and weak ratings.
In the third quarter, media network revenue, which accounts for about two-thirds of the total, grew 6 percent to $2.1 billion, despite global ad revenue falling 2 percent, largely because of double-digit percentage growth in affiliate fees and the success of its "Rock Band" video game.
Viacom shares rose 69 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at $19.26 on Tuesday, while Time Warner Cable shares added $1.56, or 7.7 percent, to $21.76.
The channels that would be affected are: Comedy Central, CMT: Pure Country, Logo, Palladia, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Tr3s, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick 2, Nicktoons, Spike, The N, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, and VH1 Soul.
Pop-up alerts on "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show" Web sites Wednesday morning informed fans that Time Warner Cable customers will lose Comedy Central shows soon and urged them to call the cable company and protest the change.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081231/ap_o鈥?/a>
^Honestly...18 channels? Can Time Warner really take a hit to their cable company as big as this? Will the sides reach an agreement by today? Opinions anyone?Viacom/Time Warner Cable dispute?
They NEVER learn, Viacom and Time Warner are both at fault. GREED KILLS. They both already make several millions dollars a year. Why cant they just let it go. The NFL network too. Viacom will make they pay $.23 per subscriber so Time warner will raid the bill $5.00. Then the other channels will up their fees too. Here comes $200.00 a month cable bills. Meanwhile we (the consumer) are stuck in the middle. With the transformation to digital TV most of us are forced to have cable.
This issue was resolved in the early hours of January 2009 to the satisfaction of all parties. No audience members missed a moment of SpongeBob, South Park or The Hills!
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Viacom/Time Warner Cable dispute?It's impossible to get through now I'm already paying 167 bucks a month for cable, internet, an digital phone service that is high enough
omfg how dumb can they be?
they can't cancel out Spike TV!
that's ridiculous..Viacom/Time Warner Cable dispute?
I'm really angry. This dispute is menial and many viewers are going to be negatively impacted because of it. I'm switching to Direct TV if Time Warner doesn't sort this mess out! It's ridiculous!
THEY'RE CANCELLING SPONGEBOB?!!!!
OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!
I'm gonna have to call them. %26gt;:)
o no. no more spongebob. i want to kill bush right now.
IT WILL BE HERE TO MARROW AND IT WILL STAY! --- Dude don't worry Time Warner Cable and Viacom worked out a deal 1 hour after the ball dropped to mark the new year NONE OF THESE WILL GO BLACK---
1. Comedy Central
2. Spike TV
3. TV Land
4. Nickelodeon
5. Nick Jr.
6. Noggin
7. The N
8. Nick at Nite
9.TV Land
9.MTV
10.MTV2
11.MTV Tr3s
12.VH1
13.VH1 Classic
14.Logo
If there was any i have left out its fine none will be canceled!!! Time Warner and Viacom have came to a DEAL! we are safe!
the facts say viacom is the problem, not time warner. how can viacom justify an increase when their ratings and advertising is down. i'm actually glad time warner is standing up to the bully that is viacom. They know the hit they take will be pretty big, but sometimes right v. wrong is bigger than money.
A lot of you "enlightened people" are talking about how Viacom is to blame. This may be true. But what are people like me supposed to do? I live in a semi-rural community where the only option is a satellite dish or Time Warner.
I guarantee you I'm not going to have a huge satellite dish displayed on my house or any of the hassles that accompany one. And considering Viacom channels account for at least 60-70% of the programming I watch the bill I already pay (which I have heard will remain the same after tonight) is hardly worth it.
So the way I see it my only choice is to blame the **** out of TWC until they come around or suffer along with my family because we can't enjoy a simple TV show after our busy days are over.
if you wanna keep your channels pay the damb minor fees just for the channels you want and call the freaking number on the screen of your tv. These networks and there shows are not permantly gone or cancelled,if you pay the fee you will still recieve them. You will not be affect unless you cable company is TIME WARNER or is owned by TW
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