You may lose 19 channels tonight

[LavianoTS386]

I just saw on CBS's Up to The Minute that a deal was confirmed.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I saw that there was a deal, too. It does not affect me but it was a curious situation. Details of the deal are not immediately available.

For what it's worth, Viacom was getting underpaid relative to the other providers, so they probably had good cause for wanting a hike.

 

[Brian]

Via AP News Wire...

LOS ANGELES – There's no need to cry, Dora.

The programmer Viacom and Time Warner Cable agreed on compensation that preserved access for the cable system operator's 15.7 million subscribers to Dora's Nickelodeon network, MTV and 17 other channels.

The two sides, citing disagreement over fee hikes, had threatened a damaging blackout at a minute past midnight Thursday that would have cut off shows such as "Dora the Explorer," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Colbert Report" for Time Warner Cable customers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Details must still be finalized over the next few days, the companies said.

 

[Kryton]

Dora, SpongeBob and Colbert could not be reached for comment.

 

[Mordock]

I saw that there was a deal, too. It does not affect me but it was a curious situation. Details of the deal are not immediately available.

It's not that common, because cable companies suffer quite badly when impasses like this are reached. In 2006, a similar argument over compensation resulted in the Lifetime channels being taken off the DISH Network lineup, and it only took about a week to resolve because DISH customers were absolutely incensed: furious calls and letters and even subscription drops.

 

[Kryton]

Wow...imagine if it were a network that appeals to BOTH genders!