Several channels may go black on Time Warner Cable
ALBANY- Some of your favorite cable shows, like Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer, and The Jon Stewart Show, may no longer be on soon because the media company that provides them is in a contract dispute with Time Warner Cable. When some parents learned that Sponge Bob, Dora and other Nickelodeon shows may be off the air Thursday, it didn't go over well. The bigger problem is that the company that provides Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and other channels, may pull them from Time Warner Cable if a contract isn't approved by midnight. But a local Time Warner representative said Viacom is asking for too much. "They are basically making outrageous demands, tripling their demands for what we pay them for the programs," said Time Warner Cable representative Peter Taubkin. But Viacom says Time Warner has been undervaluing its shows, and is justified in asking for big fee increases. The company is even scrolling a message on the bottom of the screen warning people that the shows may be gone and urging them to call Time Warner to complain. But Time Warner says many of the shows are also free to see on the internet and it isn't willing to pay $39 million more. "You have their programming being made available for free and then they're asking for these exorbitant increases, increases that will find their way to our customers and we're saying no," said Taubkin. News of the possible channel blackout comes as a surprise for some loyal watchers. Viacom says the increased fees would add an extra 23 cents to your monthly cable bill. But Time Warner says that's too much, and is still hoping to strike a deal to keep these channels on. If Time Warner Cable and Viacom can't reach a deal or an extension, the channel blackout would occur after midnight Thursday in each time zone. The affected channels would be: 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 CMT: Pure Country
This doesn't bother me in the least. Time Warner's service is so bad where I live we had to unhook digital and just use basic. They can not seem to fix the problem. I have had several new boxes and cable guys at my house. My neighbors complain of the same issues and they can't seem to fix it. I am tired of paying for a service I can not use. Roadrunner is fantastic, the phone service is adequate, but the cable sucks. I want to go back to DirectTV and may just do that depending on my conversation with TW tomorrow. >
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Honestly....I was on the side of TW. It appeared that Viacom was holding TW hostage through their viewers. Viacom actually advised TW customers to call and complain that they didn't want to lose those channels. AND THEY DID!!
Now IF the TW customers, sided with TW to not give into Viacom's demands, I would bet the farm that Viacom would have caved and our probability of our cable bill would not increase and we would have still had those channels. IMHO
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
TW is raising rates next month anyway. There was a last minute agreement so no channels were affected. TW should stop funding, or move CH-16 All-Krat TV to a higher number. It is beyond unwatchable, bias and a complete waste of money.
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TW is raising rates next month anyway. There was a last minute agreement so no channels were affected. TW should stop funding, or move CH-16 All-Krat TV to a higher number. It is beyond unwatchable, bias and a complete waste of money.
