Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1...Off The Air?

[PyroChamber]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081231/...TASrzRCwJxFb8C

Media giant Viacom Inc. said its Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark on Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a new carriage fee deal is not agreed upon by then. Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel, an amount that could increase customers' cable bills, Dudley said. 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."

[TheCorpulent1]

That'll suck. Hopefully The Daily Show and The Colbert Report can somehow stay on the air if Comedy Central goes under. They're the only things worth watching on any of those channels.

[GhostPoet]

Wait...MTV off the air? Even if it's only temp. that's still a beautiful thing.

[strikezone89]

its not there going off the air completly... only in some areas because of licensing disputes

[Dave McFly]

http://vimeo.com/2676025

[Dorian Gray]

I read that Verizon and DirectTV will be safe...hopefully...I'll miss The Colbert Report if not.

[chaseter]

Someone murder MTV...the rest can stay

[MoPlaYa]

I wonder if DishNetwork will be safe

[X-Ray]

Nicktoons (old Nick cartoon shows), VH1 Classic, Spike, Comedy Central & Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite (since they added Family Matters) are the only channels I care about.

Time Warner make some pretty damn good arguments at their site.

• MTV Networks wants our customers to pay millions more. They are currently demanding price increases that are nearly triple the rate of increase under our current agreement. These increases would be excessive even in a strong economy, but given the current conditions, it’s simply not fair to our customers.

• MTV’s demands are outrageous and would force our customers to pay millions of dollars more per year. MTV’s networks are not worth so much more today than they were yesterday, especially given the fact that their ratings are mostly declining in recent years.

• Much of their popular programming is also available for free online. In this economy, we don’t believe it’s appropriate to ask our customers to pay so much more for programming with declined ratings or that's available for free.

[Sawyer]

I'll only miss Comedy Central. **** the rest.

[KALEL114]

Luckily I switched from TWC to AT&T about 3 months ago. TWC is still in dispute with the NFL over the NFL Network. **** em.

[KALEL114]

Statement from Viacom

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The move by Time Warner Cable to force such channels as Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL and MTV off the air is another example of a cable company overreaching for profit at the expense of its viewers.

The renewal we are seeking is reasonable and modest relative to the profits TWC enjoys from our networks. We have asked for an increase of less than 25 cents per month, per subscriber, which adds up to less than a penny per day for all 19 of MTV Networks' channels.

We make this request because TWC has so greatly undervalued our channels for so long. Americans spend more than 20% of their TV viewing time watching our networks, yet our fees amount to less than 2.5% of what Time Warner generates from their average customer.

Throughout the country, we have negotiated equitable license agreement renewals, or are in the final stages of renewals, with virtually every cable and satellite carrier. Nevertheless, Time Warner Cable has dismissed our efforts at a fair compromise and has effectively chosen to deny its customers some of the most popular TV shows on the air.

As a result, we are sorry to say that for Time Warner Cable customers our networks will go dark as of 12:01 on January 1st, denying Time Warner customers shows like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and The Hills.

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. Time Warner Cable subscribers who are being handed a January 1st $3 monthly increase in Raleigh, Orange County, Los Angeles, and New York City are simultaneously facing the removal of beloved shows across 19 channels.

We find it a shame that Time Warner Cable remains unreasonable at this time. We hope its leadership will have a change of heart and will seek to negotiate a fair renewal agreement.


SOURCE Viacom

[Ratcrawler]

Originally Posted by GhostPoet

Wait...MTV off the air? Even if it's only temp. that's still a beautiful thing.

Amen.

[superhero]

i got comcastso i don't have to worry. their cuting of all the good station they took away history channel andcourt tv. my granpapa used to watch history and court tv a lot. i used to like tv guid. my mom might get cable box one day. i hope our cable doesn't do that. thats mostly all the good staitons. i don't care for comdey central or mtv. buti do watch american best dance crew on mtv.

[vindrow]

This only effects Time Warner and Brighthouse customers, if you get your cable tv from some other company then you are ok.

[RonStoppablefan]

Yah sucks for me, cries in a corner. I hope they fix this, I want to keep Nick. That or I'll switch.

So far nothing has changed. Unless it's supposed to happen in a different time zone? It's 12:51 here and I still have the stations.

[arpeggiandroid]

Apparently they have reached a compromise.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,4585385.story

[Darthkush]

Originally Posted by arpeggiandroid

Apparently they have reached a compromise.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,4585385.story

Thank god! I need my comedy central and vh1. I watch both often.

[RonStoppablefan]

Yah I read that on other places, thank goodness.