Viacom Threatens To Pull Content Offline - While Time Warner tells us customers will see refunds...
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Viacom Threatens To Pull Content Offline
While Time Warner tells us customers will see refunds...
(old news - 06:04PM Wednesday Dec 31 2008)
tags: competition · business · cable · trouble · content
Tipped by PhoenixDown
This morning we noted how a feud between Time Warner Cable and Viacom could result in Time Warner Cable and BrightHouse customers losing Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels. The fight has gotten consistently more ugly as the day has progressed, with Viacom blasting the screens of both BrightHouse and TWC customers warning them that not only will customers lose access to Viacom channels on cable, but that they'll lose access to online content. It's not exactly clear how Viacom plans to seriously enforce that threat. There's a multitude of broadband-delivery alternatives for customers who need their Daily Show or South Park fix, and it's obviously highly unlikely Viacom could or would ban Roadrunner and Bright House IPs from accessing them. Time Warner Cable seems to be taking the threat seriously, Twittering that they internally believe Viacom will attempt to "block our customers from the same full Web experience that they provide everyone else for free." "They're going to take all their video content off the Web and ruin it for everybody," insists the company. The company repeated this sentiment when we contacted them for comment. "They can block IP addresses, or ranges of IP addresses," insists a Time Warner Cable spokesman. "Of course, we are talking about a company that prepares a multimillion dollar media blitz to hammer us publicly while claiming to negotiate in 'good faith,'" he says. "So who knows what they're prepared to pull." Given purging the Internet of Viacom content is technically difficult if not impossible (especially considering piracy), the threat is likely a scare tactic being used by the company to get additional customer call volume sent in Time Warner Cable's direction. Viacom probably knows that if customers know they can get content online, for free -- it weakens negotiations (Time Warner says they want rate increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel). Viacom is also running ads alerting customers of the dispute. The American Cable Association is firing back via press release, calling the channel crawlers and other alerts "the most foolish and inflammatory message(s) we have seen to date." Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable spokesman Jeff Simmermon tells us that whatever happens, customers will automatically be seeing refunds applied to their bills.
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sansri88 @ 31st Dec 06:02PM:
TWC/Brighthouse ftw
Don't give in to the greedy corporation.
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hopeflicker @ 31st Dec 06:05PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
said by sansri88 :
Don't give in to the greedy corporation.
But, but, but it's capitalism.
/sarcasm
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Dominokat @ 31st Dec 06:10PM:
Go ahead
I don't watch Sponge Bob or My Super Sweet 16 anyway. Total waste of channels.
--
"I'm just a goof, looking for my ball."
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swintec @ 31st Dec 06:11PM:
See Ya..
See ya Viacom...I see very little content of interest on your networks besides maybe Comedy Central...You have also steadily gone down hill as of late. Will Be nice to get your junk off the cable system to make way for channels that we may actually want....Oh yea, plus the refund on the cable bills. ;)
Just wait until advertisers start pulling there content and want price decreases because of a loss of an audience 16 million strong.
--
Block Accounts | UseNet Now
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swintec @ 31st Dec 06:12PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
said by sansri88 :
Don't give in to the greedy corporation.
Apparently Viacom never studied how TW dealt with NFL Networks greedy tactics...Still dont have the channel to this day. ;)
--
Block Accounts | UseNet Now
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dadkins @ 31st Dec 06:19PM:
Broader than that!
I have Comcast and there was a ticker scrolling across the screen stating TW and BrightHouse would be losing blah blah blah... and to call to keep them.
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera
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cypherstream @ 31st Dec 06:20PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
I posted this in the TWC thread, but here goes for the front page...
I'm a Comcast sub and yet I saw the ticker. Uninvolved parties are getting involved. The gestapo tactics these media companies do need to come to an end. It's unfair buisness practce. Now how many overworked call center agents at TW and Brighthouse have to field all the angry calls? Not to mention call center agents from other providers getting hit with "is this going to happen to us?". What a big waste of time. Also they are ruining their own programming and web sites with that banner.
Um, Viacom, would it be better to get what your making now from TWC and BH, or how about a BIG FAT ZERO? Hmm, last time I looked, something is better than NOTHING. I say go without and let Viacom see some red ink on their books from loss of viewership. TWC is the second largest cable operator next to Comcast. That's quite a few MILLION customers that will no longer see your programming Viacom. Your advertisers will no longer pay you as much money because your audience is now greatly reduced. Viacom, your in a loose-loose situation. Oh and whatever happened to MUSIC television? Bring back MTV-X.
Time Warner/Bright House - Stand your ground. If they deauth your receivers replace the feeds with a continuous loop blasting Viacom and what it does for cable rates. Time to educate the customers who the REAL BADGUYS ARE.
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jebba2005 @ 31st Dec 06:22PM:
Bill reduction?
Get rid of Viacrap and lower my bill!
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Chaldo @ 31st Dec 06:27PM:
just ban all rr ips
It's pretty easy all they do is ban all Road runner ip addresses, usually by trace they can find its coming from roadrunner. then again its easy to get out of that too hehe.
But Viacom are being little bitches.
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cypherstream @ 31st Dec 06:28PM:
Providers need to join an alliance and rebell together
duplicate post...
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cypherstream @ 31st Dec 06:30PM:
Providers need to join an alliance and rebel together
Customers and Providers are fed up with this. Time for all providers to join together and rebel against this. Get the American Cable Association, NCTA, Big boys like Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, etc.. to form an alliance.
Everyone should remove Viacom from their systems. What's viacom without a distributer. It would be a modern day Boston Tea Party. This would be a stance that content providers need to be more reasonable.
We need an alliance to finally help the consumer. I don't even care if the FCC has to step in. The FCC usually does more harm than good, but right now they need to investigate the real problem area's, not the multi service video providers.
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TigerLord @ 31st Dec 06:34PM:
Who needs MTV
It's one of the shittiest channel that has plagued television, and only contributes to lower the IQ of the teenagers that watch it.
They should be thanking Viacom for doing them a huge favor.
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Toguro @ 31st Dec 06:34PM:
No more Nick
No more Sponge Bob gay pants,Icrappy and jackass and Josh. YOU LUCKY BASTARDS
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Nerdtalker @ 31st Dec 06:34PM:
Re: Go ahead
said by Dominokat :
I don't watch Sponge Bob or My Sweet 16 anyway. Total waste of channels.
I agree, a total riddance. Perhaps if they switched to a-la-carte programming they'd realize that nobody wants to pay for this nonsense, total crap if you ask me.
Honestly. I don't even watch TV anymore, I refuse to pay for it.
--
"Some people never see the light till it shines thru bullet holes." -Bruce Cockburn
I'm testing Gmail's spam filters: Broadbandreports1@gmail.com
Spam: 12900+ messages currently using 406 MB.
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rra @ 31st Dec 06:34PM:
Will it just be Black Screen?
They'll have to run "filler" commercials in between real commercials just to fill out an hour long show cause nobody will advertise with them.
--
If you are unhappy with your service stop using it.
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Knuckles @ 31st Dec 06:37PM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebel together
I already called Direct Tv will have service set up Monday.
The way I see it Brighthouse does not want to come off some profit margin. I will keep my channels and gain the NFL network.... See ya Brighthouse.....your light went dim in my home.
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TKJunkMail @ 31st Dec 06:40PM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebell together
said by cypherstream :
Customers and Providers are fed up with this. Time for all providers to join together and rebel against this. Get the American Cable Association, NCTA, Big boys like Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, etc.. to form an alliance.
Except that most of the customers WILL call up TWC & BrightHouse and whine to cust svc reps to just pay Viacom what they want. And if, god forbid, TWC & BrightHouse stand up to Viacom and the channels are shut off, these same customers will be calling their congresscritters and the FCC demanding that the cable companies be FORCED to carry the Viacom channels. And when the price goes up, they will whine about cable company price increases.
Everyone should remove Viacom from their systems. What's viacom without a distributer. It would be a modern day Boston Tea Party. This would be a stance that content providers need to be more reasonable.
I agree that this would be a great idea. Except that the cable companies would be hauled in to court within hours and be hit with a restraining order and be accused of breaking anti-trust laws.
We need an aliance to finally help the consumer. I don't even care if the FCC has to step in. The FCC usually does more harm than good, but right now they need to investigate the real problem area's, not the multi service video providers.
The FCC has repeatedly slapped the cable companies down in favor of the content providers, who really pull the strings at the FCC. This time would be no different.
And if you needed proof, here is an example of the typical customers attitude and response to the issue:
said by Knuckles :
I already called Direct Tv will have service set up Monday.
The way I see it Brighthouse does not want to come off some profit margin. I will keep my channels and gain the NFL network.... See ya Brighthouse.....your light went dim in my home.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?
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Knuckles @ 31st Dec 06:48PM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebell together
"Everyone should remove Viacom from their systems. What's viacom without a distributer. It would be a modern day Boston Tea Party. This would be a stance that content providers need to be more reasonable."
This I agree with. As far as bein Typical....you sir have no idea my relationship with Brighthouse.
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anon @ 31st Dec 06:49PM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebel together
said by Knuckles :
The way I see it Brighthouse does not want to come off some profit margin. I will keep my channels and gain the NFL network.... See ya Brighthouse.....your light went dim in my home.
What makes you think "maintaining" their profit level has anything to do with it? They could just as easily accept the new rates and pass the cost on to their customers to do just that.
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wispalord @ 31st Dec 06:59PM:
ohh wow big loss
like mtv play music anymore, we got the internet for musicvideos, and well as far as comedy central goes we have hulu, and megavideo.com for southpark :P and i never liked viocom any how they suck, alway's have...
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bzmeteorite @ 31st Dec 07:02PM:
Wow...
Now, granted, I know very little about how cable distribution with channels and content works, but this seems like a really dirty tactic. Taking down airtime and putting it up with commercials blasting TWC's PR.
I'm no friend of monopolies and such, but fair is fair. I wonder if TWC has any legal recourse for what Viacom is doing? TWC needs to stand up to Viacom anyways. And if Viacom calls bluff, well, I wouldn't exactly call those channels a loss anyways...
It's starting to be a piss match between them, that's for sure.
--
What happens when you combine common sense and an outspoken personality?
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wvcaver @ 31st Dec 07:08PM:
Re: Who needs MTV
MTV and favorite in the same sentence ?
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rawwhide @ 31st Dec 07:10PM:
Re: just ban all rr ips
said by Chaldo :
It's pretty easy all they do is ban all Road runner ip addresses, usually by trace they can find its coming from roadrunner. then again its easy to get out of that too hehe.
But Viacom are being little bitches.
Very easy to get around that. Just use a proxy server. Hell, even Time Warner Cable can setup an off site proxy. Then setup a web page full of online Viacom stuff which directs through that off site proxy server specifically for Time Warner Cable customers. ;) If Viacom pulls everything offline from everyone then it only hurts viacom and no one else.
--
See ma cap b1tch?
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TWCdude @ 31st Dec 07:15PM:
On the bright side
If all those crap channels disappear it would free up about 36mhz of space from the analog and 6mhz from the digital channels. At least here in San Antonio. Which would give room for 70 sdtv channels 14 non SDV HDTV channels. Or 50+ SDV HD channels. If they let the contract expire I would not let them put those channels back on the analog stations when viacom crawls back.
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jebba2005 @ 31st Dec 07:16PM:
Local News claims TWC will credit customers.
Just watched it on the local news. They claimed TWC will be offering credits to customers.
»www.wgme.com/News/story_detail/s···readmore
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EPS @ 31st Dec 07:17PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
Well, to be fair, Time Warner (or just Time Warner Cable) is actually larger by market capitalization than Viacom, isn't it?
This is a battle between greedy corporations on side, and greedy corporations on the other side.
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miscDude @ 31st Dec 07:21PM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebel together
I also think Brighthouse isn't the one really driving things here. From the LIN dispute, I think I remember hearing that Brighthouse has an agreement with TWC to negotiate their transmission agreements on their behalf. Sort of a package deal. It makes sense from a business standpoint to do it, since as a smaller MSO, it gives them the weight and bargaining power of the larger MSO when making these deals.
Think about it... if Viacom is pulling crap like this, trying to get this kind of rate increase out of an MSO as large and powerful as TWC, what chance would a smaller MSO have of making a deal that's favorable for their customers.
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Anonymous_ @ 31st Dec 07:29PM:
Pirated
i will just have to Pirate shows, problem solved
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sameshtdd @ 31st Dec 07:30PM:
Re: just ban all rr ips
said by rawwhide :said by Chaldo :
It's pretty easy all they do is ban all Road runner ip addresses, usually by trace they can find its coming from roadrunner. then again its easy to get out of that too hehe.
But Viacom are being little bitches.
Very easy to get around that. Just use a proxy server. Hell, even Time Warner Cable can setup an off site proxy. Then setup a web page full of online Viacom stuff which directs through that off site proxy server specifically for Time Warner Cable customers. ;) If Viacom pulls everything offline from everyone then it only hurts viacom and no one else.
How does ESPN360 do it then? They limit that content to customers of certain ISP providers (of which Comcast, Time Warner, and Brighthouse are NOT ISP subscribers)
I would think they could easily implement an ISP-based solution like ESPN did.
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miscDude @ 31st Dec 07:33PM:
Really dirty pool
I have numerous issues with the way this whole thing is shaping up.
1. Since when does Viacom try to deal directly with the consumer? By starting their media blitz, and crawl, they have basically tried to get the consumer to fight their fight for them. What's worse, the method and timing of what they did prevented the MSO, who actually has to deal with the consumers on a regular basis, from handling the situation in such a way as it avoids pissing off EVERYBODY!
2. What's also interesting is by placing the crawl on all their feeds, they have also pissed off a lot of other carriers who are having their customers flood their call centers as well about this issue. I'm sorry if you had any sort of REAL issue today with Any MSO, because odds are your long hold time was because of people freaking out about the Viacom crawl.
3. I'm sorry.... a 22-35% INCREASE in your per sub rates? WHAT?! And you are SHOCKED when they say no? Name one thing that has, over the past year, gone UP in price 22-35%? Even the MSO's themselves only tend to raise their rates 2-5%. As a whole, we have actually seen prices DECREASE this year because of the economy, even gas which was averaging around $3/gal at the start of the year has now dropped close to the $1.75 range at the end because the economy got so bad.
About the only bright side I can say for all this, is it might help your general public see how greedy big content is, and how it effects their cable rates.
What I want to know is, If Viacom has decided to market their product and position directly to the consumer like their current campaign and crawl are indicating (you know... without having to deal with the consumer by only providing the MSO's numbers)... Does this mean that if the customers all call in and say "I just want MTV and Nick, And maybe Spike... But trash the rest of that crap".... That Viacom will allow customers (and MSO's) to ala-carte their channel offerings? Or do they actually have the spine to tell the general public "OH! I'm sorry... You need to take all these channels, no exceptions and no discounts.. We need them all on the air so we can sell advertising on each one."
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Racerbob @ 31st Dec 07:37PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
Screw Viacom. We don't watch or need any of their channels in our home. I hope that the channels go off ...permanently.
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Phil @ 31st Dec 07:40PM:
They've been showing the ticker regardless of carrier...
I have Verizon FiOS and have been seeing the wonderful messages as well.
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Phil @ 31st Dec 07:43PM:
Re: Go ahead
To you, sure. But my 3-year old enjoys Noggin. Oh wait, I'm not affected regardless, nevermind.
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pokesph @ 31st Dec 07:48PM:
yawn...
No loss of DECENT content there
nothing to see, move along.
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ggultra2764 @ 31st Dec 07:51PM:
Re: They've been showing the ticker regardless of carrier...
Same on my end with DISH Network.
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dougau @ 31st Dec 08:06PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
It seems both Time Warner Cable and Viacom are greedy and don't give a shit about their customers.
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BosstonesOwn @ 31st Dec 08:07PM:
Re: just ban all rr ips
They do it based on the ip blocks , They simply blacklist the ip blocks of any isp they don't want accessing the site.
Easily worked around with a proxy on an isp that does get accepted.
--
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt......and then it's absolutely friggin' hysterical!"
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S_engineer @ 31st Dec 08:09PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
said by Racerbob :
Screw Viacom. We don't watch or need any of their channels in our home. I hope that the channels go off ...permanently.
I agree "screw Viacom"...but you also left out screw TW too. This is a fight about whom can be more greedy. Will TW customers get reduced rates if these channels go away?...never!
Will Viacom learn that reduced revenues from advertising in a bad economy will effect their bottom line?....never!
Viacom will be shoveling more Flava Flav type crap because they can get it cheap, rather than actually showing Music Videos on Music TV because of the royalties involved.
The real question is...what would Vannila Ice do?
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BosstonesOwn @ 31st Dec 08:13PM:
Re: Pirated
yeah cool , lets give them more of a reason to try and force more regulation.
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ds5v50 @ 31st Dec 08:23PM:
Re: Pirated
Looks like we need an opinion poll that TWC can let Viacom see showing how worthless there programing is. I feel the same... TCW wave bye bye to Viacom, give us something we want.
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S_engineer @ 31st Dec 08:27PM:
Re: Bill reduction?
said by jebba2005 :
Get rid of Viacrap and lower my bill!
"Viacom countered that it was asking for only a modest increase of about 25 cents a month, or $3 a year, per subscriber for its package of 19 channels."
»www.latimes.com/entertainment/ne···85.story
This is a different figure than what TW is bitching about!
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TKJunkMail @ 31st Dec 08:30PM:
Any doubt that Viacom is the main villain??
»www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/···lumn.htm
This afternoon Time Warner made an offer to Viacom, which was an increase of the original offer, and asked for an extension in negotiations. Viacom rejected this offer as they felt that it was a lowball figure, as they asked for a $39 Million Dollar increase. Viacom rejected Time Warner's request for a 15 to 30 day extension, and with just hours to go, it appears as if Viacom will be pulling nearly 20-channels from Time Warner Cable
Sounds like it is Viacom being the ones who care the least about the customers.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?
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Knuckles @ 31st Dec 08:32PM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebel together
they very well may accept the new rate and just as well pass it on either way they stand to lose customers. Consider me on of the first whether it be an educated or uninformed decision so be it. One way or another I have to pay for tv. I just will not sit around and wait for the "refund" that may or may not ever get to my door.
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cypherstream @ 31st Dec 08:32PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
From:
»www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/31/am···g-crawl/
American Cable Association calls out Viacom's annoying crawl
by Richard Lawler, posted Dec 31st 2008 at 6:47PM
We're not sure how this demand will be received, but the American Cable Association's argument is simple: if only Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks subs are in danger of losing MTV Networks channels at the stroke of midnight, why are we all bothered with an annoying crawl message? Of course, that plea is couched by statements backing TWC and BHN's reluctance to agree to new higher programming fees, but those of us eagerly anticipating a Miley-Sized surprise during tonight's NYE celebration that have a different provider could do without the interruptions.
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funchords @ 31st Dec 08:40PM:
VIACOM - don't be STUPID - keep your sites open
Dear VIACOM,
If you block TWC and BrightHouse from your sites, you are doing very dumb things --
1. You are driving viewers to competitors' programs and websites, reducing your viewer loyalty. What is your programming worth if customers stop wanting it?
2. You are severing the remaining "end-run" channel you have between yourselves and TWC/BrightHouse customers. Your best hedge against bad-faith bargaining is the ability to perform an end-run to the customers.
3. You are missing an opportunity to raise ad rates. If the only way to watch The Daily Show is on your website, you can demand top-dollar from your website advertisers. The Daily Show advertisers can't bypass you by advertising with the operators.
4. You are encouraging people to turn to non-paying or lesser-paying avenues to get your programming.
SO, DON'T BE STUPID. I really don't care about who wins this fight. My motive here is to show that the power of the Internet is how it creates a level playing field. By keeping your websites open, then you're not at the mercy of a monopolist Cable-TV operator.
(However, if you do close your websites to TWC/BrightHouse Internet users, you can expect that they will show you that they're not at the mercy of you, either.)
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
What you do at Christmas does not matter so much; What counts are the Christmas things you do all year through.
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icex _ @ 31st Dec 08:48PM:
Blah..
Same stuff with dishnetwork a few years ago. Not sure if anyone remembers it though.
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etaadmin @ 31st Dec 08:48PM:
Replace viacom's channels with...
I would love to see the NASA channel and some international channels (Russian, French, German etc) added for free or at the same cost as viacom's channels. This is a great opportunity to dump spongebob and mtv for more intelligent programming.
It's time go go into TV detox for a change.
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RolteC @ 31st Dec 08:50PM:
Re: Replace viacom's channels with...
If I was TWC I would not give in to this demand.
They need the money, which is why they are increasing everything so much. I would just wait it out, if they need it so much, they would not loose such a big customer!!!!
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Dogfather @ 31st Dec 08:53PM:
Antitrust violation
Viacom retaliating by blocking TWC content is anti-competitive behavior given that they don't charge any other provider for access to online content. That behavior could be construed as an anti-trust violation.
If Viacom wants to play that game, TWC should simply refuse to air anti-TWC advertising on their cable systems. Let Viacom "blitz" all they want...they won't reach their target audience unless they do so on non-Viacom networks.
TWC should also insert in their own ad space counter 'blitzing' showing Viacom to be a bunch of greedy f*cks and the reason that cable video rates are so high.
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sansri88 @ 31st Dec 08:54PM:
Re: Really dirty pool
For the crawls that Viacom is running, TWC and Brighthouse should insert their own advertisements in the local ad blocks they have showing their side of the story.
What Viacom is doing is exactly what you said: getting the consumer to fight for their idea, whether it's the right idea or the wrong one (in this case, the wrong one).
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anon @ 31st Dec 09:17PM:
GO VIACOM!!!
Film Production and Distribution: Viacom International, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Republic Pictures, MTV
Films, Nickelodeon Movies, Go Fish Pictures
Television Networks: Comedy Central, Logo, BET, Spike, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Noggin, The N, Nick Jr., TEENick, MTV, VH1, MTV2, CMT, Palladia
Television Production and Television Distribution: DreamWorks Television
Video Gaming: Xfire, Harmonix, GameTrailers, Neopets
New Media: MTV New Media
Everything Viacom could pull if the deal does not get done....
I used to love Viacom channels when I was younger but I could not care less about them anymore as I do not watch tv.
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k1ll3rdr4g0n @ 31st Dec 09:18PM:
Well, this is what my crystal ball is telling me
Lets throw some facts out there. Viacom is stupid greedy. TWC is stupid greedy. The economy is bad.
Gameplan:
Viacom cuts off TWC. Customers get angry, switch to satellite. TWC gets into financial trouble, asks for bailout. Government refuses bailout, Comcast "acquires" TWC. Government still doesn't see Comcast as a monopoly. Comcast raises rates. And the cycle continues.
But in reality, if Viacom realizes that the customers can get the same programming for free, they will back down. But, that will require them to have intelligence; do they have any? Who knows, but lets sit back and find out!
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Dominokat @ 31st Dec 09:52PM:
Re: Who needs MTV
said by wvcaver :
MTV and favorite in the same sentence ?
MTV in all its channels sucks.
When it first started, it was great. MUSIC VIDEOS
But now it is reality TV...
MTV has seriously drifted from it's roots.
--
"I'm just a goof, looking for my ball."
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swintec @ 31st Dec 09:56PM:
I dont know...
I dont know what will be more fun, watching the ball drop at midnight, or watching the channels go black! Woooo What a New Year.
--
Block Accounts | UseNet Now
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iansltx @ 31st Dec 10:00PM:
TWC/BH should...
...offer Viacom the following: their own tier.
If you want the 19 channels, you pay for 'em. Viacom gets n exact number on people watching their network, people who want the TV can pay for it. Let's say...$5 per month...
...and reduce cable bills by $3 per month.
It's not ala carte, and it would provide Viacom with a rude awakening as to how many people simply don't care about their services. But wait...Viacom would never stand for that, would they? I mean, it's logical...
Which reminds me. My college needs to get off the ViaCommie-run CollegePublisher service for the school newsaper stat. Seeing as how I'm part of the team migrating us to Joomla, guess I'll do that in a week, when the semester begins. Yay for lots of math classes, plus Micro- and Macro-economics, where Viacom would fear to tread.
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funchords @ 31st Dec 11:03PM:
Re: Well, this is what my crystal ball is telling me
said by k1ll3rdr4g0n :
Viacom cuts off TWC. Customers get angry, switch to satellite. TWC gets into financial trouble, asks for bailout. Government refuses bailout, Comcast "acquires" TWC. Government still doesn't see Comcast as a monopoly. Comcast raises rates. And the cycle continues.
I really don't have much to add to this. It was just so good that I felt like quoting it in a reply! :-)
Happy New Year!
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
What you do at Christmas does not matter so much; What counts are the Christmas things you do all year through.
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anon @ 31st Dec 11:17PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
I agree let them drop ViaCrap from the lineup.
Extortion is what these companies are doing a reasonable rate increase at times are expected but from what I am aware of this is no ordinary rate increase 3 fold increase is high.
I hear some are going to switch to Satellite TV, I think that is more expensive but if they want those channels then go ahead pay through the nose.
Content providers are acting like OPEC greedy.
I rather not pay extra for 19 of Viacom's channels.
Especially LOGO. Keep that to yourselves.
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cline3621 @ 31st Dec 11:20PM:
Re: Blah..
I remember the summer of 2003 as a Dish Network technician.
»Remember
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mdttb @ 31st Dec 11:25PM:
Re: TWC/BH should...
It's 8:25 do you know where SpongeBob is ???
Time Warner currently pays Viacom an est. $300 million a year to carry the channels. I can live with out most of the channels TW would lose but one I watch Spike :( hmmm well maybe I can live without it after all shows are repeats which I've seen a zillion times.
Pros: TW saves 300 million a year and TW Customers get a refund thru lower cable bills......... Ya right ! They'll lose some customers because their kids are screaming for SpongeBoob eer Bob.
Cons: Viacom loses about $300 million a year. Did I mention they lose $300 million a year plus other revenues like ad marketing.
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Surfinusa @ 31st Dec 11:25PM:
Re: TWC/BH should...
said by iansltx :
...offer Viacom the following: their own tier.
If you want the 19 channels, you pay for 'em. Viacom gets n exact number on people watching their network, people who want the TV can pay for it. Let's say...$5 per month...
...and reduce cable bills by $3 per month.
Now that sounds good to me. I would support that. Tired of forced bundling in cable channels.
Sure you don't have to watch all of them but you are paying for them. So its forced bundling.
Next will come the death star doing the same.
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jester121 @ 31st Dec 11:58PM:
Re: Bill reduction?
Look, if you're going to keep interjecting facts into this debate you'll have to leave, sir. :D
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seanm6869 @ 1st Jan 12:22AM:
yep
Its still on
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C0deZer0 @ 1st Jan 12:34AM:
It's really deceptively simple here
Viacom wants ad revenue and revenue from broadcasting to content providers like TWC. This time, it just happened that it was TWC's turn on the table with them. But who is going to pay a (minimum) 22% rate-hike for channels that nobody watched to begin with, much less for nearly 20 channels? By the math, Viacom should be providing at least another four or five channels' worth of content for that type of rate. But we know that is not going to happen.
At the same time, pushing TWC in this regard would also mean that they could stonewall and not bother with the contract, letting it run out. TWC saves money they don't have to pay to Viacom in the meantime, and simply counts their losses of those who truly were so ill affected by the loss (a couple thousand subscribers, maybe per state?).
Viacom may claim they're in the right, but they know they need companies with as big a viewer footprint as TWC to bring in the ratings. Ratings bring in ad revenue, and that means more money to all involved. They definitely don't want to lose that piece of the proverbial pie to the competition! :o
So, in this case, TWC literally has almost all the cards needed to really flush out Viacom. All they have to do is wait, put on a good poker face and call their bluff. When Viacom realizes they got nothing, they'll have to fold and give TWC a better rate, or shirk off some of those channels that nobody ever watches anyway. Really, how many MTV channels do we need? And what the f**k is Logo and Palladia? Never heard of either of those channels... so why would I watch them? Or better yet, why should I and TWC be forced to pay for them?
Should TWC hold their ground and make Viacom squirm, it could be the beginning of a move to a true a la carte business model, and from there... :) let the shakedown of all those useless channels begin. ;)
--
Front Line Force Fortress Forever
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Xizer @ 1st Jan 12:49AM:
Re: Replace viacom's channels with...
said by RolteC :
If I was TWC I would not give in to this demand.
They need the money, which is why they are increasing everything so much. I would just wait it out, if they need it so much, they would not loose such a big customer!!!!
Good riddance to Viacom! Greedy bastards. Time Warner could use this as an opportunity to throw a few international news channels in English as a public good. Americans are severely lacking in knowledge about world affairs. Some good English channels Time Warner could add at a minimal cost:
-Al Jazeera English
-BBC World News
-Deutsche Welle
-France 24
-Press TV
-Russia Today
These are already easily available throughout the world over free-to-air satellite. Somehow I doubt they would charge Time Warner Cable exorbitant prices to carry them, and since very few providers in the U.S. offer these channels it could really set TWC apart from the competition.
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anon @ 1st Jan 12:55AM:
deal
They just reached a deal.... Very low double digit #.
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SyphonBW @ 1st Jan 12:56AM:
Time Warner Cable and Viacom reach deal
LOS ANGELES – Time Warner Cable Inc. says it has reached a deal with Viacom Inc. on carriage fees, avoiding a blackout of 19 cable channels including MTV and Comedy Central.
The two sides, citing disagreement over fee hikes, had threatened a damaging blackout at midnight that would have cut off shows such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Colbert Report" to about 15.7 million subscribers.
Shortly after agreeing to extend a midnight deadline by an hour, Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley said the sides agreed on a new contract.
Details of the deal were not immediately available.
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viperpa33s @ 1st Jan 01:13AM:
It's not about greed
This is not about greed, this is about who can and who can't live without it. Of course some companies like Viacom will use money to make there case on that point.
Can people live without MTV or Nick? I am sure there are some people who can but there are many people who can't. You'll get many people who will bitch about how much they pay for cable but they can't live without there MTV.
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SmD Frylock @ 1st Jan 01:40AM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
personally, The only one I'll miss is Comedy Central, and not by much. Spike and MTV are useless anymore.
Although I can see it now. Little Billy walking into their parents room tomorrow morning with a tear in his eye saying one thing all day.
"Daddy? I can't watch SpongeBob. I wanna watch SpongeBob! SpongeBob told me yesterday that the mean cable company wanted to get rid of him! WHY DID THE MEAN CABLE COMPANY WANT TO GET RID OF SPONGEBOB!! HE DIDN"T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!"
--
Frankly, I no longer fear Hell anymore, because I know Satan will just put me in my old office and proceed to unleash an unending barrage of stupidity towards me.
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watice @ 1st Jan 01:51AM:
TWC Customers
About to be 2am (happy new year everybody) and still have MTV and Comedy Central on TWC in nyc.... Guess we got a negotiation extension of some kind? Somebody called somebody's bluff!
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Jmartz @ 1st Jan 01:59AM:
Cablevision
If TimeWarner is in a pissing match with Viacom you can bet Cablevision is next.
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OSUGoose @ 1st Jan 02:08AM:
Well it looks like TWC blinked
Great news, Time Warner Cable and Bright House customers – you will NOT lose your favorite channels!
We are happy to report that Viacom’s MTV Networks and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement to ensure that you continue to receive the channels and shows you love. Please disregard any further ads you see that indicate our channels are going off the air. Those ads will come down shortly.
Thank you so much for your support and your continued viewership of all our 19 channels, including
Nickelodeon, Noggin, MTV, Vh1, Comedy Central, BET, Spike, and TV Land.
Happy New Year!
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Mentat @ 1st Jan 02:08AM:
`
The issue appears to have been rectified:
»www.marketwatch.com/news/story/V···hplatest
--
»market-ticker.denninger.net/
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Kearnstd @ 1st Jan 02:16AM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
i honestly do not understand why the entertainment industry keeps asking for more and more money, causing cable rates to go up. then sits around and wonders why people drop down their cable tiers and just pirate the shows off torrents.
it is always bad to piss off the customer, especially when they can get your product elsewhere for free.
this is honestly a case where id hope a judge would throw out any piracy case on the grounds that due to the greed of both companies the person was unable to access with legal means via programing or websites.
--
[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports
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Kearnstd @ 1st Jan 02:21AM:
Re: Time Warner Cable and Viacom reach deal
im guessing Viacom either got TWC to fold or realized that their advertisers didnt want to loose 15.7 million potential eyeballs. i know id be unhappy if i blew coin on ads that i was told would hit x number of people and suddenly the drop off a major chunk to make more money while keeping me at the same contract rate for ad space.
--
[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports
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MADx @ 1st Jan 02:24AM:
Re: `
Well that was all for naught, great drama though. Maybe TWC can now justified the rise in cost to its customers now.
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PolarBear @ 1st Jan 02:37AM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
said by cypherstream :
if only Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks subs are in danger of losing MTV Networks channels at the stroke of midnight, why are we all bothered with an annoying crawl message?
Because Viacom is running a campaign to try and turn ALL TV viewers against TWC. It's extremely childish and immature, and even if I was a TWC customer, I'd say let's play hardball and let them pull the channels, and see how they like the lost revenue from TWC AND their advertisers.
They're being childish assholes, and they're gonna get screwed in the end.
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anon @ 1st Jan 03:06AM:
Well, you know...
This all came down to Viacom trying to push their hard decisions onto Time Warner.
Viacom has to stop coming out with stupid super-niche channels and consolidate instead of trying to rape the customer.
ALL the cable company owned channels have done this when they have seen some super niche channel they came out with wasn't working financially, just look at tech-tv and g4.
Sorry Viacom, the days of "i want my MTV" are long over.
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DannyZ @ 1st Jan 04:55AM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebel together
I'm not sure about Brighthouse, but as I understand it, Viacom's profit margin is nearly twice that of TWC. I think it's Viacom that should come off some profit margin.
--
Out the 10BaseT, through the router, down the co-ax, over the fiber, across the backhaul, past the edge router, off the network...nothing but net
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RR Conductor @ 1st Jan 05:53AM:
Re: They've been showing the ticker regardless of carrier...
said by ggultra2764 :
Same on my end with DISH Network.
I'm not seeing them on Directv.
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RR Conductor @ 1st Jan 05:55AM:
Re: yawn...
said by pokesph :
No loss of DECENT content there
nothing to see, move along.
I'd be VERY ticked if they took Nick At Nite and TV Land off my set, they play a lot of good, classic tv, a lot of VERY good content :)
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RR Conductor @ 1st Jan 05:57AM:
Re: Replace viacom's channels with...
said by etaadmin :
I would love to see the NASA channel and some international channels (Russian, French, German etc) added for free or at the same cost as viacom's channels. This is a great opportunity to dump spongebob and mtv for more intelligent programming.
It's time go go into TV detox for a change.
TW doesn't carry NASA TV? We get it on Directv.
--
»www.amtrak.com
»www.amtrakcalifornia.com
»www.metrolinktrains.com
»www.narprail.org
»www.freightrailworks.org
»www.up.com
»www.bnsf.com
»www.northcoastrailroad.org
»www.sonomamarintrain.org
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MrSpock29 @ 1st Jan 09:13AM:
Re: They've been showing the ticker regardless of carrier...
said by RR Conductor :said by ggultra2764 :
Same on my end with DISH Network.
I'm not seeing them on Directv.
I saw them on DirecTv the other day, but not last night.
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BlitzBoy @ 1st Jan 09:43AM:
Too funny...
I hope Viacom does pull their channels and internet services. After about a month(or even less) Viacom will realize how dumb they are and all the money they are losing, and go back to Time Warner.
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anon @ 1st Jan 09:54AM:
Re: GO VIACOM!!!
said by YeaGoViacom :
Film Production and Distribution: Viacom International, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Republic Pictures, MTV
Films, Nickelodeon Movies, Go Fish Pictures
Television Networks: Comedy Central, Logo, BET, Spike, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Noggin, The N, Nick Jr., TEENick, MTV, VH1, MTV2, CMT, Palladia
Television Production and Television Distribution: DreamWorks Television
Video Gaming: Xfire, Harmonix, GameTrailers, Neopets
New Media: MTV New Media
Everything Viacom could pull if the deal does not get done....
I used to love Viacom channels when I was younger but I could not care less about them anymore as I do not watch tv.
www.thepiratebay.org
fire up those bitorrent clients!
i've never seen a cable content company be so arrogant about demanding price increases.. oh wait.. never mind, I have..
the pirate bay may even put up a special viacom section to direct you to the torrents, how about a tvguide.com plugin?
A website plug-in similar to amazon.com's digital content! at some point, you may just have to $ PAY $ the cable companies just to air your crappy programming because no one wants to pay for it.. let this be a lesson to all the other content producers.. you could be next if you make unreasonable demands in a souring economy.. try to pass all the anti-piracy, 3 strikes laws, etc, etc you want.. you will be on the losing side just like the music & movie industries as well. This younger generation who grew up won't stand for it.. they're already used to getting free music.. once broadband gets to the next level if not by cableco, then by telco deployments.. your finished! game over.
BTW, thank you for telling us which channels to look for their content on.. now we know what they make.. bye bye viacom, hello rebate on cable subscriptions!
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danawhitaker @ 1st Jan 10:36AM:
Re: yawn...
There's a lot of content I don't care for on many of those channels BUT...
I have a child that watches several shows on Nickelodeon. I'd be darn ticked if this was happening, because I'd have to deal with a toddler whining to watch Spongebob. And I'm sure the response to this will be that my kid should learn to watch less TV, she doesn't watch a lot, but she does on occasion enjoy Spongebob, she knows *exactly* when it comes on, and three year olds aren't always rational. I'd rather not listen to a screaming fit when I try to turn on the channel and it's not there.
I'm just glad I'm not in Time Warner or Bright House territory. At least when Mediacom dropped FOX in Des Moines for a while an antenna was a viable free alternative.
--
You're watching Sports Night on CSC so stick around...
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axus @ 1st Jan 10:49AM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
"Yes, son, blame the cable company."
Thinks to himself "At last! No more SpongeBob!"
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Arctic nut @ 1st Jan 10:54AM:
Re: `
I can't help but wonder how much all of this drama cost per subscriber. Yet another reminder of why I 'cut the cable' and went OTA only. Wasn't much worth watching on the cable channels and there isn't much to watch OTA. I have plenty of HD outside. ;)
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axus @ 1st Jan 10:54AM:
Re: just ban all rr ips
It's kind of an interesting note that "network neutrality" only applies to the network, not the endpoints. Servers (or clients) can block whatever IP addresses they like, of course people won't like it. Furthermore, the blocked networks aren't required to go out of their way to get through a block, they just can't do any blocking themselves.
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anon @ 1st Jan 11:16AM:
Re: Bill reduction?
said by S_engineer :
"Viacom countered that it was asking for only a modest increase of about 25 cents a month, or $3 a year, per subscriber for its package of 19 channels."
»www.latimes.com/entertainment/ne···85.story
This is a different figure than what TW is bitching about!
Although 25 cents may sound "modest", what is the % increase over what is being paid now? Does this increase follow inflation or is it a substantial rate hike by Viacom?
The facts are, when you multiply relatively small numbers by 10's of million's of households times many channels you get very large $$'s.
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axus @ 1st Jan 11:06AM:
Re: Providers need to join an alliance and rebell together
I think the whole forced bundling thing is unfair. It seems a small step away from unfair tying.
It seems there'd be lots of support to include forced bundling in the category of "unfair trade". I can think of many examples where it'd be good to end forced bundling.
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anon @ 1st Jan 11:17AM:
Re: VIACOM - don't be STUPID - keep your sites open
You forgot -
5. You are violating the principals of net-neutrality. Perhaps the FCC should get involved and fine them $3 / year for each IP address that is blocked.
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SuperJoker @ 1st Jan 11:10AM:
Re: They've been showing the ticker regardless of carrier...
said by MrSpock29 :said by RR Conductor :said by ggultra2764 :
Same on my end with DISH Network.
I'm not seeing them on DirecTv.
I saw them on DirecTv the other day, but not last night.
I saw them on Dish Network too, Viacom can just go crawl back under the Rock they crawled out from under.
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MrBentor @ 1st Jan 12:25PM:
Why are they double dipping?
Ok - If the channels have advertising and make a lot of money through those commercials, then why are they also charging for the channel? I could understand one or the other; but not both.
Furthermore - perhaps the cable company should put a page in their bill and on the website of exactly how much is being paid for each channel (per sub).
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centsofhumor @ 1st Jan 03:34PM:
Just go away viacom
i wont miss any of them channels anyways.
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Steve Mehs @ 1st Jan 04:13PM:
Re: yawn...
Since when do Full House, Home Improvement, Cosby Show Extreme Make Over, Trading Spouces and Nanny 911 qualify as 'classic TV', hell other then Home Improvement, none of them are any good either, especially Full House.
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wev567 @ 1st Jan 04:37PM:
Re: VIACOM - don't be STUPID - keep your sites open
Didn't TWC say something about Viacom raising cable rates for content they give away for free online?
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hottboiinnc @ 1st Jan 07:08PM:
Re: VIACOM - don't be STUPID - keep your sites open
what is the principals of net-neutrality? Since when is Net Neutrality even in place?
And by the way they're not slowing content down or anything. they're fully blocking and if you don't like it change providers. That's easy. Or maybe tell TWC to pay the rate increase and offer to have your bill raise to get the content.
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funchords @ 1st Jan 07:11PM:
Re: VIACOM - don't be STUPID - keep your sites open
said by viagreedy :
You forgot -
5. You are violating the principals of net-neutrality. Perhaps the FCC should get involved and fine them $3 / year for each IP address that is blocked.
Viacom can't violate NN any more than you or I can from our homes.
Even though it's not the common NN problem, the specter of "delay, degrade, deny" deals like NN advocates worry about suddenly seem to appear here!
Internet Access Providers ought to be making deals with subscribers to connect them to the Internet. If their deal with Viacom has any Internet-related component to it, it ought to be examined!
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
What you do at Christmas does not matter so much; What counts are the Christmas things you do all year through.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:11PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
said by PolarBear :
Because Viacom is running a campaign to try and turn ALL TV viewers against TWC. It's extremely childish and immature, and even if I was a TWC customer, I'd say let's play hardball and let them pull the channels, and see how they like the lost revenue from TWC AND their advertisers.
The explanation is actually a lot simpler.
The reason that everyone is seeing the crawl about TWC is because it originates at master control.
The reason it originates at master control is because that is the most effective way Viacom can get the word out to TWC subs.
That's it, no grand conspiracy.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:15PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
I used to be a Time Warner Sub in NYC before I moved out. They were a horrible monopoly that treated their customers like dirt, and gave us watered down service. In 2002 in Queens my street wasn't wired for digital, only analog. I could understand for some podunk two traffic light redneck paradise, but not new york fucking city.
Now that FiOS is in town, they are literally quaking in their boots.
Had FiOS not shown up, Time Warner would have just accepted the increase and passed it on to the customers.
Now with real competition they have to actually fight the fee increase.
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PolarBear @ 1st Jan 08:17PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
I didn't say it was a conspiracy, just an immature method of conveying their stance. Not only the delivery method itself, but also how the message implies that it's all TWC's fault, so call them and bitch. It's a disagreement between BOTH parties, making each party equally responsible. Yet Viacom wasn't giving out THEIR phone number, only TWC/BH's.
As I said, childish behavior, because they know they have just as much (more, IMHO) to lose if TWC tells them to shove it.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:17PM:
Re: They've been showing the ticker regardless of carrier...
They're coming from master control.
Everyone will see them, even the guy with a 8 foot BUD.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:25PM:
Re: Antitrust violation
Because sauce for the goose is good for the gander, isn't it...?
A little history lesson is in order here.
When Time Warner and AOL merged, it was under the condition that they would carry a second 24 hour news channel in addition to CNN. This was mandated by Federal antitrust regulators.
Time Warner in NYC chose MSNBC over Fox News, despite Fox News having its headquarters in NYC and contributing to the NYC tax base. MSNBC was not located in NYC at the time.
When Fox bought airtime on the NYC gov't owned cable channels, Time Warner sued to keep them off. The battle was bitter, with lots of references to the CEO's insanity and one even being equated to Adolf Hitler, a battle carried publicly in the NYC newspapers.
In the end they settled and Fox News is now available on Time Warner NYC, but not without significant twisting of their arm.
Time Warner didn't play fair, and now they're playing victim.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:26PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
So how else were they to get all viewers to know the channels were being pulled?
Inserting the crawl in at master was the cheapest and most effective way to do it. The other cable companies seeing the message was simply collateral damage.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:29PM:
Re: Why are they double dipping?
They're double dipping because ad revenues aren't enough to cover operational costs.
Even the broadcast networks now charge fees for retransmission over cable and satellite.
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Eat Me @ 1st Jan 08:31PM:
Re: VIACOM - don't be STUPID - keep your sites open
Common negotiation tactic. Cable companies also claim that because local stations are freely receivable over the air that they shouldn't be charged to redistribute them.
FCC rules say differently.
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vonage @ 1st Jan 08:48PM:
Networking
There is no way we are blocking ip ranges for certain isp.
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PolarBear @ 1st Jan 11:57PM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
Why did they need to at all? Since they ended up renegotiating the contract before they pulled the channels anyway (as they pretty much knew they would since in my time I've never heard of Viacom actually pulling all those channels from a major provider), all they managed to do was alarm a bunch of subscribers unnecessarily.
Not only that, they weren't JUST notifying viewers that the channels were going to be pulled, but also implying it was TWC/BH's fault by asking viewers to call TWC/BH and complain. As I said before, notice they weren't putting up their own number? They didn't even mention their own name (a lot of viewers don't realize that Viacom owns all those channels).
I think that TWC should be able to sue Viacom for defamation. They did a good job making TWC look really bad, simply because THEY (Viacom) wanted a huge increase.
If I went around as a sat installer doing shitty installs and telling customers it's DirecTV's fault that the install sucks so bad simply because I wanted a raise and they wouldn't give me one, I guarantee you DirecTV would fire my ass. The only difference is DTV could get a new installer to replace me. TWC can't get MTV, Nick, and Comedy Central from somewhere else.
That still doesn't mean they should have to tolerate the badmouthing, though. Viacom should give up their right to even ask for an increase after that smear campaign. If I went around telling my customers that DirecTV sucks, I certainly wouldn't expect a raise.
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RR Conductor @ 2nd Jan 12:10AM:
Re: yawn...
said by Steve Mehs :
Since when do Full House, Home Improvement, Cosby Show Extreme Make Over, Trading Spouces and Nanny 911 qualify as 'classic TV', hell other then Home Improvement, none of them are any good either, especially Full House.
The Cosby show is classic tv, I consider anything from the the 1980's on back to be classic tv. I am a HUGE fan of 1950's thru 1980's tv myself, I don't watch those other shows though, well other than Home Improvement.
Edit-Then there's Sanford and Son, The Jefferson's, All in the Family, Three's Company, all on TV Land, those shows are as classic as they come! I luv 'em all :)
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jmn1207 @ 2nd Jan 01:14AM:
Re: Well it looks like TWC blinked
said by OSUGoose :
Great news, Time Warner Cable and Bright House customers – you will NOT lose your favorite channels!
We are happy to report that Viacom’s MTV Networks and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement to ensure that you continue to receive the channels and shows you love. Please disregard any further ads you see that indicate our channels are going off the air. Those ads will come down shortly.
Thank you so much for your support and your continued viewership of all our 19 channels, including
Nickelodeon, Noggin, MTV, Vh1, Comedy Central, BET, Spike, and TV Land.
Happy New Year!
Right, great news indeed. When can TWC customers expect the rate increase?
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rid0617 @ 2nd Jan 02:41AM:
Shame on Viacom
How low can you go when you pander and upset little kids cause their cartoons are going off. I saw the full page ad showing Dora crying which was designed to upset kids and make them go running to their parents. Because of that I will no longer watch anything owned and operated by Viacom. I hope this turned into a PR nightmare for them. Besides, what person with the IQ of a rock wants to watch MTV non stop reality shows. It's no where close to what MTV was supposed to be in the beginning.
Besides, when cable first come out we were told commercials would end if enough customers would sign up for cable. Now you get commercials from the networks, the local channels and the actual cable companies. Cut the cable years ago, went with OTA HDTV and DVDs. Have not regretted it yet.
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Eat Me @ 2nd Jan 09:32AM:
Re: TWC/Brighthouse ftw
Dream on.
It's just business as usual. Viacom presented the facts. There's no defamation. Both of them were playing an elaborate game of chicken.
It's not like this hasn't happened before. Charlie Ergen ALWAYS has fights with programming providers, which is why DISH keeps dropping channels from time to time and then picking them back up.
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Cheese @ 2nd Jan 02:16PM:
Re: Go ahead
said by Dominokat :
I don't watch Sponge Bob or My Super Sweet 16 anyway. Total waste of channels.
To you they are a waste, it's a good thing you don't speak for everyone :uhh:
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