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Time Warner and Viacom settle over fees

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jan 2009 7:14 User comments (3)

Time Warner and Viacom settle over fees Yesterday we reported that conglomerate Viacom was threatening to pull 19 channels from Time Warner systems if the cable company refused to give higher fees for use of the channels.
A few of the affected networks would have been powerhouses such as Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Spike TV. In all, the 19 channels accounted for 25 percent of total cable network viewers at any given time.

The two companies have come to a resolution however: "We are pleased that our customers will continue to be able to watch the programming they enjoy on MTV Networks," responded Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable."We are sorry they had to endure a day of public disagreement as we worked through this negotiation."



Viacom had claimed that it's "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," despite bringing in much more viewers.

Although terms of the deal were not disclosed it appears that every current Time Warner Cable subscriber will be expected to pay an extra 19-to-23 cents per month on top of their current bill, amounting to just under $3 USD a year.

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3 user comments

11.1.2009 21:51

Please don't jump the gun! Your previous article stated this and was wrong( It did seem likely that they would be pulled with the BS bantering back and forth.) This was settled before midnight and the channels were never removed. You do an awesome job and I so appreciate all you do. Afterdawn is my primary site I visit and I wish all a fabulous new year! Be more patient young Jedi. :)

21.1.2009 23:50

They just reported what information they were given. If you had actually watched any of the channels on that day, there was a scroll bar that said those channels would not be available the following day. I don't think they jumped the gun. I think you got post happy.

32.1.2009 11:43

No viacom channel on any Time Warner Cable system was removed. A deal was reached in time!

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