After a much publicized battle, Time Warner Cable and Viacom have settled their dispute. For the new year, Time Warner Cable subscribers can enjoy such channels as Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1 or (God help them) MTV.I didn't see this going any other way. If Viacom withheld its (very popular) line-up of channels from TWC, both of them would lose a valuable revenue stream. This is not a good idea in such an economy where people lose their jobs; I've learned that when the income stops coming in for most households, the first thing to go is cable television. This is not the case for me because the first thing to go in my house in such a situation would be the groceries (no way am I giving up Stephen Colbert).
At least subscribers can now enjoy such greats as Spongebob Squarepants, South Park, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Sadly it means they'll also have to put up with The Hills.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-01-2009 @ 12:30PM
BJ Wanlund said...
The conversation that might have transpired:
TWC: Will you ask for less money than you want?
Viacom: NEVER!
TWC: Even if I say that we won't carry Nickelodeon on New Year's Day just to give the LT marathon more viewers?
Viacom: Okay, go ahead. We'll sleep with you as well.
TWC: It's settled then.
Boy, did TWC cave in a big way. They just went down 500 points in my book.
BJ
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1-01-2009 @ 4:32PM
Tony said...
"Very popular" line up of channels? Besides the few shows on Comedy Central and Nick that the kiddies watch, I'd hardly consider Viacom popular by any stretch of the imagination. So few people watch MTV and VH1 nowadays that it's not even worth talking about. I'd bet that the agreement was to drop the $0.25/subscriber demands.
Thank god they came to an agreement. What would people do without quality shows like "Bromance" and "My New BFF"?
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1-01-2009 @ 9:54PM
Andrew said...
Something similar is happening in the Pacific Northwest for Dish Network subscribers. Fisher Communications (they own the Seattle and Portland ABC affiliates) is asking for an 80% programming rate increase and Dish Network is refusing to pay it. The contract expired on December 18, which means I've been without any ABC programming since then.
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1-02-2009 @ 5:07AM
Elizabeth said...
You guys keep talking about missing Colbert/Stewart -- did you know that you can watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report online for free, both on Comedy Central and on Hulu?
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