TWC Today Forums
Present - The Weather Channel 2000 => TWC and your Cable Company => Topic started by: texasstooge on December 31, 2008, 01:21:19 AM
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Viacom, Time Warner Cable face midnight deadline (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-viacom31-2008dec31,1,5837212.story)
A dispute over programming fees could leave millions of viewers with static where their favorite channels had been.
By Meg James
Time Warner Cable subscribers could lose "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Dora the Explorer" and Jon Stewart at midnight tonight if the cable company fails to agree on a new contract with one of its biggest suppliers.
Viacom Inc. has threatened to pull its programming in a high-stakes showdown over pricing. Nearly 2 million homes in the Los Angeles area that are customers of Time Warner Cable Inc. could lose such Viacom channels as Nickelodeon, MTV, VH-1, Comedy Central, Spike, TV Land and BET.
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A throwback to Dish Network's dispute with CBS/Viacom.
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I have seen this happen soo many times before. Here is how it goes.
1. Viacom wants XX more money
2. Provider doesnt want to pay
3. Viacom says we will shut down our stations on this date.
4. Viacom/Warner tell the public so there is an outcry
4. Viacom and Warner both say to public we want to make a deal
5. At the last minute, with the public getting frantic, Viacom lowers price to X and Warner accepts.
This has happened so many times this past year its almost predictable. These things just make the public hate their service provider and the networks even more. Time Warner wants to jack everyones bill up $3 and cut a ton of key stations. Viacom wants $.25 more per subscriber.
Quick Fact: TWC charges around $8.6 per subscriber.
"Bad news, Time Warner Cable subscribers. The cable carrier notorious for resisting HD expansion until a competitor rolls into town is getting ready to pull all 19 MTV Networks channels (MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and Comedy Central just to name a few, presumably including the HD versions). Viacom has just unleashed a scathing announcement that calls the carrier's refusal to pony up "outrageous," and publicly pleads for its bigwigs to reconsider and open up the checkbook. In essence, Viacom is asking for a fee increase of just under $0.25 per month, per subscriber -- which, admittedly, sounds rather high given the lack of MTV-related content that's a) watchable and b) in high-definition -- but TWC is straight-up refusing.
Now, we've no qualms with a provider balking at price increases, but while it's planning to let content vanish from lineups, it's also raising monthly rates by $3 in Raleigh, Orange County, Los Angeles and New York City. Ahem, TWC -- could you bother justifying these hikes by allowing us to keep our content? And don't even come at us with the "we just added more HD!" comment -- after all, you blast us everyday with ads proclaiming that your HD "is free." [Engadget]
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It's apparently happening to Bright House as well...there was a scroll on NICK this morning.
Cable co. pissing matches...gotta love 'em!
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Just when I thought one dispute was resolved, another one abruptly comes.
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Wow! :o I am so glad I don't have Time Warner Cable anymore. Looks like I got rid of it just in time. :rolleyes:
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i, for one, am fed up with the bullshit going around in the broadcasting industry.
its down right ridiculous
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Time Warner is letting the Viacom networks go from the channel lineup?
I'm so happy. The shit on Nickelodeon and MTV isn't worth watching. I don't want to pay $100 a month knowing that I have a bazillion MTV stations I won't care for.
I actually want Time Warner.
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Time Warner is letting the Viacom networks go from the channel lineup?
I'm so happy. The shit on Nickelodeon and MTV isn't worth watching. I don't want to pay $100 a month knowing that I have a bazillion MTV stations I won't care for.
I actually want Time Warner.
Unfortunately, you're only part of a minority, so I doubt that'll happen in the long run.
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Time Warner is letting the Viacom networks go from the channel lineup?
I'm so happy. The shit on Nickelodeon and MTV isn't worth watching. I don't want to pay $100 a month knowing that I have a bazillion MTV stations I won't care for.
I actually want Time Warner.
Well thats good for you i guess. You price is going to go up and your channels are going to go down
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Retransmission consent...Dish is dealing with some nasty local ones right now...
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i, for one, am fed up with the bullshit going around in the broadcasting industry.
its down right ridiculous
That's what I'm saying. The cable companies should continue to make agreements in writing and let us live our lives without worrying about carrage disputes.
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i, for one, am fed up with the bullshit going around in the broadcasting industry.
its down right ridiculous
That's what I'm saying. The cable companies should continue to make agreements in writing and let us live our lives without worrying about carrage disputes.
its not just that...simply because times are bad right now...networks think they have the power to raise prices to keep their productions going, they're taking advantage of economic problems, and that is not right. i'm glad time warner is pulling viacom networks off, maybe it'll prove a point that not everyone is going to get what they want, especially when we're going through...i can only assume a recession, not so much as a depression?
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I just hope it doesn't happen to Comcast... I watch a lot of Spike TV.
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Viacom just plain out sucks.
The folks at Viacom are nothing but a bunch of corporate tightwads. Not to mention that they are extremely anal about their content appearing on video sharing sites like Youtube.
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It seems that Viacom and Time Warner has finally come to an agreement. The blackout was narrowly avoided when the deal was struck at 12:30AM CT.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ijDA5bgxiHlTvS_r-SSjskS1Tq1wD95E5B200 (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ijDA5bgxiHlTvS_r-SSjskS1Tq1wD95E5B200)
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This is just like the Echostar dispute against Viacom
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I remember hearing about this. I was watching the Spongebob movie when I saw a black banner with details about this dispute scrolling along it. For a few minutes, I actually thought we were getting Time Warner! :no:
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Stay with Comcast. You will pay less and you will have less worries. Whenever I call Time Warner about my bill or why my channels are mysteriously changing, the people I talk to don't speak good English.
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Stay with Comcast. You will pay less and you will have less worries. Whenever I call Time Warner about my bill or why my channels are mysteriously changing, the people I talk to don't speak good English.
I would have to dispute that statement.