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Phlip
12-31-2008, 11:49 AM
'Colbert,' 'SpongeBob' may go dark on Time Warner - MSN TV News (http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=345713&GT1=28103)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "SpongeBob SquarePants (http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/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 (http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=306136) "The Daily Show (http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/)" and Stephen Colbert's (http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=190228) "The Colbert Report (http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/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 — 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 — over less than a penny per day — 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.


Who else is among the 13% of the US who gets their cable through Time Warner?
Because at midnight, it looks like we'll be screwed out of some programming. I mean, I will be just fine without Black Embarrassment Television, but VH1 actually shows shit I like to watch, as does Comedy Central.
I do not see this ending pretty.

VROOOM
12-31-2008, 11:59 AM
yay i have Verizon

DUFFM4N
12-31-2008, 12:03 PM
i have Time Warner, and have been seeing the pop ups all day yesterday and today...i will be calling and protesting the loss of the channels seeing as how my 2 year old watches Noggin everyday

90hatchie
12-31-2008, 12:08 PM
i got cablevision IO so hopw im safe

SimpleS14
12-31-2008, 12:29 PM
I never knew Time Warner provided cable TV service.


I have COX Communications.

Om1kron
12-31-2008, 12:36 PM
I have time warner, as long as hbo is unaffected, then fuck em!

ILoveMyRHS13
12-31-2008, 12:41 PM
I never knew Time Warner provided cable TV service.
Ditto; I have local cable.

GSXRJJordan
12-31-2008, 12:44 PM
That's crazy... good article though, really shows both sides of it. For $.23/month, you'd better believe I'd want to keep all those channels.

Oh, wait, I have AT&T Uverse. SUCKAAAAAAS.

exitspeed
12-31-2008, 12:51 PM
I'm trying to get this shit figured right now. This is bullshit not having Spike. I'm fine with loosing MTV and the other channels, but Spike puts it over the edge. AT&T doesn't have U-Verse at my address yet.

I'm pissed that this is the first I'm hearing about it too.

Phlip
12-31-2008, 12:58 PM
I checked when I got to work, I was not happy that AT&T doesn't have U_Verse here too.

LeftNutOfGowd
12-31-2008, 01:10 PM
Good I'm tired of that stupid kraby patty fry cook giving subliminal messages to kids telling them its OK to grow up and work at a fast food restaurant and be happy stupid ass sponge

I wonder if this had anything to do with my road runner internet being down yesterday

mtyost
12-31-2008, 01:15 PM
I have Direct TV

Om1kron
12-31-2008, 01:41 PM
I saw it in the elevator at work this morning.

Future240
12-31-2008, 01:58 PM
That's a whole lot of pissed off people.

dizastaman
12-31-2008, 02:10 PM
I have direct TV and was watching 3's company last night on Nick @ Night and there was a huge scrolling message at the bottom of the screen about this with a phone number to call and complain. I would be real pissed if i lost those channels and thought about calling just to help out.:rant2:

fromxtor
12-31-2008, 02:37 PM
I saw this shit too and all I could say was
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81/fromxtor/FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU2.jpg

Mi Beardo es Loco
12-31-2008, 03:27 PM
time warners picture SUCKS!!! I don't know how they're going to be able to compete when they're still running ancient cable lines when satelite and fios is now available.

I got rid of Time Warner when they started cutting channels in my area to pay for repairs they needed to make to their service. Repairs to keep up with what Dish Network could just beam to their satelites.

I knew when the installer came down to install the cable and said "why the fuck aren't you getting Dish when it's available in your area" it was a mistake.

C. Senor
12-31-2008, 03:56 PM
go direct tv. not really. but sucks for you guys that have time warner. i never really like time warner service. but that's a whole lot of people that use them for tv. hope that crap gets resolved. heaven knows i'd be super pissed if some one cut the tv channels i like to watch.

S14DB
12-31-2008, 04:03 PM
You want to know why TWC doesn't think it's worth the money?

Hulu - Watch your favorites. Anytime. For free. (http://www.hulu.com/)

BustedS13
12-31-2008, 05:05 PM
if you can, switch to uverse.

i can't wait to dump Charter.

Future240
12-31-2008, 05:07 PM
if you can, switch to uverse.

i can't wait to dump Charter.

A bit of info on uverse? Not what it is, but why is it better IYO etc.

BoostedCoupe
12-31-2008, 05:39 PM
YA!!!!! for newwave.

BustedS13
12-31-2008, 06:07 PM
A bit of info on uverse? Not what it is, but why is it better IYO etc.
it's ATT's version of cable. carried by fiber optic. interface is slick, prices are cheaper, and you don't have to deal with your shitty cable company anymore.

Dousan_PG
12-31-2008, 06:21 PM
uverseis att's fiber setup
verizon has the badass fios
uverse is to NOD
FOIS is to prem

i got dish still
no uverse where im at
friend has it. its rad
boss has FIOS its amazing.

fuck cable
HD sucks on cable anyways compared w/ fiber and even satellite.

GSXRJJordan
12-31-2008, 06:27 PM
it's ATT's version of cable. carried by fiber optic. interface is slick, prices are cheaper, and you don't have to deal with your shitty cable company anymore.

Bingo - I got Uverse last year when I was still working for AT&T, it's bad-friggin-ass. DVR that comes with it can record 4x SD channels, or 2x HD channels at once.... and its cheaper than everything else when you bundle internet and TV.

HD sucks on cable anyways compared w/ fiber and even satellite.

Correct~ Cable HD is great when you're close to the central office, and really shitty when you're far. DirecTV has the best HD signal, Dish is good, and FIOS/Uverse are good also.

BustedS13
12-31-2008, 07:10 PM
oh yeah, forgot to mention that you can watch your dvr shows on any box in the house. it's just better

GSXRJJordan
12-31-2008, 08:35 PM
oh yeah, forgot to mention that you can watch your dvr shows on any box in the house. it's just better

On the same token though, if your Uverse service goes out (like when they're adding someone to your neighborhood box), you can't watch anything, because the programs are not actually stored on the box.

Also, it should go without saying that when ordering a Uverse package (which is actually just 25mbit DSL and TV over IP), you should get the internet package also - they offer 6mbit/1mbit DSL for $35/mo, it's the jam.

BustedS13
12-31-2008, 08:43 PM
On the same token though, if your Uverse service goes out (like when they're adding someone to your neighborhood box), you can't watch anything, because the programs are not actually stored on the box.

Also, it should go without saying that when ordering a Uverse package (which is actually just 25mbit DSL and TV over IP), you should get the internet package also - they offer 6mbit/1mbit DSL for $35/mo, it's the jam.

i'm on 16mb right now with Charter, but i'll gladly scale back to use Uverse. i believe you can get up to 10mb on Uverse right now, or 18(?) if you don't get cable.

240love
12-31-2008, 09:11 PM
this sucks!! i actually tried calling that number but i got a busy signal all the time so i guess that means there was alot of pissed people

Matej
01-01-2009, 12:02 AM
It's funny how they waited until the day before it's supposed to happen to tell us about it.

Although I was highly doubtful they would actually do it. It seemed more of a scare tactic to get the customers outraged and back up Time Warner, and alas, everything still works fine for me.

S14DB
01-01-2009, 12:08 AM
Time Warner Cable and Viacom reach deal

By RYAN NAKASHIMA – 1 hour ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Time Warner Cable Inc. said Wednesday it reached a deal with Viacom Inc. on carriage fees, avoiding a blackout of 19 cable channels including MTV and Comedy Central.

The two sides, citing disagreement over fee hikes, had threatened a damaging blackout at midnight Eastern time that would have cut off shows such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Colbert Report" to about 15.7 million subscribers.

Shortly after agreeing to extend a midnight deadline by an hour, Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley said the sides agreed on a new contract.

The handshake deal meant the channels will not go dark and a joint statement was expected within the hour, Dudley said.

Viacom had mounted an advertising onslaught warning customers of the possible blackout, taking out ads in major newspapers and Web sites from The New York Times and TVGuide.com featuring a tearful "Dora the Explorer" crying and clinging to her monkey pal, Boots.

"Why is Dora crying?" the ad read. "Tonight you will lose Nickelodeon and 18 other channels from your TV." It then prompted people to call their cable company to complain.

The dispute would have affected some 13.3 million Time Warner Cable subscribers, mainly in New York state, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and Texas; and 2.4 million customres of Bright House Networks in Michigan, Indiana, California, Alabama and Florida.

Time Warner Chief Executive Glenn Britt on Wednesday had called Viacom's demand for a 12 percent increase in fees — an extra $39 million on top of the estimated $300 million it pays Viacom annually — extortion and outrageous given the recession. Viacom countered that the requested increase amounted to an extra $2.76 annually per subscriber.

Details of the deal were not immediately available.

Viacom had argued that Americans spend a fifth of their TV time watching Viacom shows but its fees made up less than 2.5 percent of the Time Warner cable bill.

Spokeswoman Kelly McAndrew said that despite ranking high in the ratings, Viacom's cable networks' average daily license fee was 65 percent lower than that of networks run by The Walt Disney Co., News Corp.'s Fox, Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting System and Discovery Communications Inc.

Analyst Michael Nathanson with Bernstein Research said Viacom's channels had been "underpriced relative to their peers."

Public carriage fee disputes of this scale between a programmer and a cable operator are not that common, especially when there's a threat of a blackout, said Derek Baine, senior analyst at SNL Kagan in Monterey, Calif. Typically, both sides agree on contract extensions as they negotiate on terms, he said, and any blackouts don't last long because TV operators get calls from outraged customers.

One prominent carriage fee fight in recent years was in 2004, between Viacom and EchoStar, the former name of Dish Network Corp. Shows were dropped for two days.

In October, Time Warner Cable wrestled with LIN TV Corp., which operates local TV stations affiliated with NBC, CBS, Fox and CW. But this time, Time Warner Cable faced Viacom, the largest cable programmer, not a small independent with a handful of channels.

The channels in the dispute were Comedy Central, Logo, Palladia, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Tr3s, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick 2, Nicktoons, Spike, The N, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and CMT: Pure Country.

Viacom shares rose 88 cents, or 4.5 percent, to close at $20.12 on Wednesday, while Time Warner Cable shares fell 31 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $21.45.

AP Business Writer Deborah Yao in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Phlip
01-01-2009, 12:08 AM
Well, I am home now, they said they would be going dark at midnight, it is 2:09am and I am watching "Drawn Together" on Comedy Central.

exitspeed
01-01-2009, 09:22 AM
I'm glad they worked this shit out.

ryguy
01-01-2009, 10:51 AM
Oh, wait, I have AT&T Uverse. SUCKAAAAAAS.

God damn motherfuckin right. I don't know how the hell I ever watched TV before Uverse came along.

mrmephistopheles
01-01-2009, 11:06 AM
Viacom had mounted an advertising onslaught warning customers of the possible blackout, taking out ads in major newspapers and Web sites from The New York Times and TVGuide.com featuring a tearful "Dora the Explorer" crying and clinging to her monkey pal, Boots.

"Why is Dora crying?" the ad read. "Tonight you will lose Nickelodeon and 18 other channels from your TV." It then prompted people to call their cable company to complain.

That is some fucking dirty pool right there.