Send To Friend 
CaptionTweet This! http://mync.com/site/23166/
It's gotten so bad, Dora the Explorer is crying.
The full-page advertisement of the bilingual animated character sobbing is the latest move in the feud between Time Warner Cable Inc. and Viacom Inc. that has a deadline of midnight tonight.
Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark if a new carriage fee deal is not agreed upon by then.
About 13 million customers could be affected. The nation's second-largest cable operator primarily serves customers in New York state, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and Texas.
"It is an unusual step for it to go this far," said Melissa Buscher, spokeswoman for Time Warner. "If indeed the midnight hour approaches and we still don't have an agreement, these stations will go black."
Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel, an amount that could increase customers' cable bills.
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," he 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. The company later asked for a $39 million increase, which would amount to a $2.75 increase per year for customers.
McAndrew 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," McAndrew 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."
Debbie Dover, a Time Warner customer, said she doesn't agree.
"I don't think the price that they're asking people to pay for these channels is justified," she said. "I think sometimes companies can become pretty greedy when it comes to charging a lot more than people can afford and I think TV should be affordable."
In addition to the Dora the Explorer advertisement, Viacom ran a crawl across its channels, urging customers to call Time Warner and demand that they keep them.
Time Warner officials said programming is the company's No. 1 expense.
"That's why we're trying really hard to come up with an agreement that's fair for our company and fair for our customers," said Buscher, the Time Warner spokeswoman.
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.
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.
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.
For some, no matter how this turns out, the entire process is a lose-lose situation.
"We're at their mercy cause we're going to pay," Rick Crank, a Time Warner customer, said. "Regardless, we're going to end up paying for it. I think we're being held hostage big time."
Report Abuse 
Comments
By Bill on 01/01 01:26 AM
Comedy Central is still going and it's 12:25 AM. Maybe they got a deal to keep the channels?
By Ashley McCall on 01/01 12:41 AM
Are you guys nuts??? I don't have money to but my 18 month old all kinds of educational toys all the time, so these cartoon channels you are taking will be hurting the babies!!! So....what kind of people will that make you? And direct TV....No than you....If it rains...no cable...snow...no cable....cloudy....no computer...Please don't take away from my son!!!
By Nancy on 01/01 12:39 AM
I personally think that this whole situation is down right silly. These 2 companies fighting like children is uncalled for and I don't agree with either one. I am disabled and I don't know what I would do if I didn't have TV, but I will tell you this,I will not cancel cable. I made the big mistake of changing to direct tv last summer. Not only was the customer service horrible but so was the service itself. We had really bad weather with tornado's in our area and of course because the weather was bad we didn't have a signal. A tornado touched down less than a mile from my home and I didn't even know until the next day. If it was cloudy,no signal,raining,no signal,even when it was very windy with the sun shining the signal popped on and off. So if you are thinking of changing to direct tv you better think long and hard to see if it is worth it. If the price goes up I won't like it but I will pay it. I would rather pay a little more and actually have service when it really counts.
By James Sullivan on 01/01 12:33 AM
I think the price hikes are ridiculous enough the charge you more every year already. now they want to charge you more on top of that for the same programing. being a military family in a military town, I know that most of us soldiers cant afford all these price hikes. If TWC gives them what they want how long until these other companies are going to come looking for their share of the pie. my family watches most of these channels and i have to credit the children stations to a lot of my childs mental growth, he learns so much it would be a shame if we lose this over a quarter. maybe viacom should trade in their cadillac's for a kia's, and let me keep the quarter to put in my kids piggy bank.
By Carl on 12/31 11:55 PM
Personally dont watch any of those channels, but switching to DirecTV isnt an answer from my experience. Once DirecTV started making thier own boxes they are horrible, break all the time, takes forever to get fixed and customer service is worst Ive seen, long wait times on the phone, and even then they dont know anything about the technology they use. DirecTV is also almost a third more then Im paying for Time Warner Cable. Just a heads up for those thinking of switching...
By Anonymous on 12/31 11:52 PM
wow, this is so stupid. these channels cannot just go black. do they know how many people they're hurting by doing this? george lopez is my favorite show, and i cried when i found out about this. a lot. this seriously needs to stop. and very soon, or else time warner is going to lose a lot of business because nobody wants to keep paying the same amount of cash each month when their favorite television channels are gone. more than 31.3 million people have time warner cable. i guarantee they're not happy at all about this. drake and josh are coming out with a new movie soon. iCarly is extremely popular and true jackson VP is a new television series. who knows what could happen when they're gone. i just want everyone to know the kind of heartbreak i feel about this. it is truly an absolute outrage. something has to be done fast. seriously.
By teresa on 12/31 09:12 PM
I FEEL LIKE THIS I ALREADY PAY ALOT FOR CABLE I DO NOT WANT TO PAY ANYMORE AND FOR THOSE WHO FEEL THAT THEY WANT IT TO GO UP. GO BUY DVD'S FOR THE KIDS. I REFUSE TO PAY ANYMORE THAN WHAT I AM PAYING NOW. MY BILL IS ALREADY 150.00 A MONTH. IT IS THE PRINCIPAL OF THE MATTER.
By Tom on 12/31 08:51 PM
Who is making all of these stupid decisions over at Time Warner Cable? I pay too much for the service I already receive. I refuse to pay another dime, nickle or penny. Does anyone have the phone numbers for Direct TV or Dish Network?
By dj dioguardo on 12/31 08:44 PM
oh my god i dont know wht i would do with out mtv n the orther channels all my fun shows are on those tv channels. i dont watch anything else but those channels beside espn n a&e;n i would like to know if there shuting down cmt if they r im telling my mom to change networks cause its wrong to kids and adults
By VALUE, HUH? on 12/31 08:38 PM
TIME WARNER IS ACTUALLY TRAINING ALL OF THEIR REPS(SALES & OTHERS)TO TRY AND SELL TIME WARNER CABLE BASED ON VALUE OF SERVICE, NOT PRICE. LOSING THESE CHANNELS MAKES ALL OF THAT TRAINING A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME.....I'M LEAVING TOO IF THEY LOSE THESE CHANNELS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THEY WILL BE RAISING MY RATES EFFECTIVE 1/1/08....SO LONG TIME WARNER CABLE
By Jacob on 12/31 05:40 PM
I think we could do without MTV. In fact, I think we'd be better for it. All those channels promote is sex, selfishness, and poor stewardship. I'd hate to see Spike go though, not that its much better, but I do like to watch UFC. These channels have been falling back on a lot of re-runs as well, so let Time Warner dump'em and contract with someone else. I personally am not willing to pay more just to watch these channels.
By Valerie C. on 12/31 05:36 PM
These extra channels are the only ones I actually watch. I can't believe that this dispute is over money. My children won't ever sit still without Dora or SpongeBob and videos can only be entertaining for so long I agree with Maggie and say that these channels are very educational. PLEASE DON"T TAKE THESE CHANNELS OFF THE AIR,Hopefully you can come up with an agreement so we keep our channels
By Dan on 12/31 02:52 PM
You guys are not seeing the bigger picture. The reason there is such an issue with the negotiations is that Viacom is struggling with revenues and trying to make ends meet by passing on their issues to the cable company, and thus the customer. Then at the same time they are making money off revenues of these channels on the internet. Yes, to us it's only a measley 23 cents a month, but it's a slippery slope. What happens when other major media networks want their 22% hike? On top of that, 22% is a huge hike by any means. When is the last time you got a 20-30% raise at your job?
By Scott Andrew on 12/31 02:02 PM
Time Warner, If we lose Noggin, i'llc ancel cable and subscribe to DirecTV
By Deborah Ford on 12/31 12:09 PM
I am in total support of Mrs. Eggleston. I agree with her ideals. I too am a grandmother and these channels are valuable to children. I am a CMT listener most of my day. Scalping is not the answer. Deborah Ford Rochester New York
By anneonymity on 12/31 12:00 PM
Because my $92/month cable bill isn't enough?
By Deborah Ford on 12/31 11:50 AM
This idea is outrageous! We already pay for these channels. Like most companies during this time in our country the almighty dollar is more important than the entertainment and joy that people receive from watching some of these channels. Deb Ford
By Maggie Eggleston on 12/31 10:20 AM
I am a grandmother who only has the listed stations: 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 because they represent class. My grand daughter comes to visit often and I keep the TV land and Nickelodeon and Noggin, Nick 2 for her Please do not take away these stations over MONEY. They are educational for the children and very entertaining for the Adults. Thanks Maggie Eggleston Louisville, Ky
Post A Comment
Commenting is not available in this section entry.