Time Warner Cable peeps - we about to lose our MTV, VH1, Comedy Central?

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 9:43pm

What an awful way to ring in 2009. It turns out that Viacom claims it has been trying to negotiate a "fair" renewal of its prized cable channels for months and months, but reputedly Time Warner Cable has been unresponsive and "unreasonable". The nation's 2nd largest cable system operator, in turn, claims Viacom is asking for "exorbitant" increases in carriage fees which would have to be passed along to the customer. So now this fight between the two Big Media giants will hurt cable viewers. At 12:01 AM on January 1st, just after the ball drops in Time Square, Time Warner Cable's 13 million subscribers will lose 19 Viacom channels. The howling starts here, especially by parents home for the holidays with children who won't have access to their favorite shows like SpongeBob Squarepants and Dora The Explorer, and tweens/teens wanting to see new episodes of those new unreality Reality TV series The City and Bromance, and twentysomethings and older who get their news from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report.

This affects all U.S. Time Warner cable subscribers including those in New York and Los Angeles.

More in the link...

UNHAPPY NEW YEAR! Time Warner Cable To Lose Viacom's MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon & Comedy Central In NY, LA, Everywhere

Updated On: 12/30/08 at 09:43 PM

[skb2010]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 9:46pm

For once, I'm glad I live in the Midwest and have Mediacom. But MTV is going down the crapper with all of their "reality" shows.

Updated On: 12/30/08 at 09:46 PM

Posted: 12/30/08 at 9:48pm

You won't be able to watch Bromance?????

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 9:48pm

MTV would be no great loss.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:19pm

Time Warner unresponsive? Time Warner unreasonable? Well, I never!

It happens all the time. Someone will blink eventually, but yeah, you'll be without your channels for a while. Complain to both companies.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:20pm

Agreed about MTV. Last night was the first time I actually watched it in I don't know how long. Actually, Nickelodeon isn't a great loss either.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:24pm

There's virtually nothing you won't be able to see online.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:26pm

Well, then I'd like a reduction in my $175 monthly bill!

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:36pm

I HATE Time Warner......they are such jerks!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:42pm

When I moved to New York, the first thing I did was get my cable set up. Time Warner was insistant they were paid in hand at installation, money order or cash only. So I gave them a money order and they hooked up cable and they sent me bills month after month demanding installation fees. I kept telling them that since they wouldn't hook up the cable without the money, doesn't that stand to reason that THEY effed up.

Long story short, I had to trace the money order, so I went to the post office and told them my story. The girl looked at the money order I had a copy of and said, "Mmm mmm MMM, Time Warner Cable."

That said, all cable companies kind of suck. And I used to like DirecTv, but they turned out to be douchebags, too.

[nexttoelectric]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:43pm

There's no way they would do this, they would lose a large number of customers if they cut Viacom networks, starting with me.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:46pm

Have you guys never gone through this before? I've seen cable companies drop actual NETWORK networks, like ABC.

[TimeSquare3]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:49pm

I have DishNetwork, last year we lost FOX, ABC, CBS, & NBC!! I have them back now but it ran though Atlanta and San Francisco, I'M IN NEW YORK!!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:52pm

Welcome to globalization. New York ain't the center of the world anymore, kiddos.

[nexttoelectric]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 11:02pm

That's insane, how does a TV provider expect to keep customers if it's dropping the most watched channels (referring to ABC/CBS/NBC). I don't know what I'll switch to, cause I'm not a huge fan of satalite and I don't think we have FiOS up where I live.

[cmleidi]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 1:51am

I'll lose these channels but I don't care. I rarely watch them as it is. If I hadn't read the posting, it would have been months before I noticed.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 2:20am

Comedy Central - that would be freaking obnoxious. I need my Stewart/Colbert!

[DADTOCHAD]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 6:31am

I just did a two year plan w/ TWC for my son's sake and we get roughly 70 channels. They said we could lose 14 channels. If this happens, would I be able to get out of my agreement w/ Time Warner do to breech of contract on their part?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 9:22am

Probably not. And er, welcome.

That's insane, how does a TV provider expect to keep customers

Because they essentially have you over a barrel in most places. Most cities only have one major cable provider (some do have a secondary carrier like RCN). If where you live doesn't allow a dish, then you really have no choice but to go with the cable conglomerate if you want more than what your antenna will pick up.

[nexttoelectric]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 9:27am

Yeah, i realize that. Friggin Northern Manhattan doesn't have FiOS and Cablevision is only in the outerboros. looks like i may be treking to my boyfriends in BK to get my Celebreality fix (or catch VH1 shows at work during my freetime).

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 9:32am

We have Comcast and RCN here, but neighborhood doesn't get RCN (even though I'm confornted daily with tons of their literature strewing my streets). My building won't let us get dishes, so I'm stuck with Comcast, which is really not much better than any other cable company I've had.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 9:33am

Time Warner is the worst company. AOL went down the crapper when they were bought by Time Warner. It's like the company wants to destroy media rather than create it.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 9:38am

Just so you all know which stations are to be pulled nationwide for those with Time Warner Cable:

At 12:01 AM on January 1st, just after the ball drops in Time Square, Time Warner Cable's 13.3 million subscribers will lose 19 Viacom channels -- 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; Vh1 Soul.

[danmag]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 10:05am

I'm so glad I have Comcast because they are so freaking customer friendly!!! And so reasonably priced! And provide such fantastic service! Just kidding. Comcast is Satan. If I weren't so darn addicted to Bromance I'd cancel the whole shebang.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 10:10am

You know, this is really damn annoying. It's happening with everything. We're getting a huge fare hike with the MTA, but LESS service. Now we're getting less service with Time Warner, and how much you wanna bet not only do they not reduce the rates, but that they go up right away?