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Jon Stewart guesting on Noggin network's Jack's Big Music Show; Viacom might yank this and 18 more channels from Time Warner if the cable company doesn't agree to higher carriage fees | Photo by ninjapoodles via Flickr
The stroke of midnight tonight could bring more disappointment than delight for Time Warner subscribers. If the cable company doesn't pony up an agreement to Viacom Inc.'s demands of 25 cents more per subscriber, they will yank all 19 of the channels they own from their airwaves at 12:01 a.m. January 1st.
Although 25 cents per subscriber doesn't sound like that much, it would be on top of already rising Time Warner cable costs, which will be seeing a hike in 2009 for area customers. According to the OC Register, Viacom made a statement late yesterday in "an attempt to win consumer sympathy," which pointed out that Time Warner is the bad guy that might deny their already gouged customers: “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." No kidding, right? We all hold Logo's 365Gay News and MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen close to our hearts, don't we?
Back to the bottom line: Time Warner says the increase (called "carriage fees") is exorbitant, and that they are, in a manner of speaking, sticking up for the little guy--you know, the customer. They're already in the undesirable position of having to defend their rate hike.
Earlier, Fred Stefany, Time Warner's division president for Orange County and Los Angeles South, responded to readers explaining why the cable company must raise its prices next month. He mentioned that video service is going up because every sports network and "free" TV network (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.) are demanding more money. Looks like those networks aren't the only ones.Will the ball truly drop at midnight tonight for the 13 million Time Warner customers who enjoy programming on 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, and VH1 Soul?
Time Warner customers who want to make sure they can watch Jon Stewart on January 1st are being asked to call 1-800-762-3786 to make their thoughts known on the issue.
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To hell with Time Warner Cable! They've done nothing but raise prices while offering the worst customer service in the world. If you pay for cable, you pay enough as it is. Time Warner should not be allowed to decide what you can and cannot watch because they're corrupt cheapskates.
That said, if in fact there is a Viacom blackout on TWC, it shouldn't come as a surprise to subscribers, who are probably used to intermittent service outages for no apparent reason.
And just in case (or if you're like me and don't have cable to begin with) -- check out this list of alternative ways to watch your Viacom shows
This is one more example of the outrageous customer service policies of Time Warner, and probably Viacom to some extent. In California, due to a somewhat new law, customers basically have no one to complain to these days, cities have lost their power to negotiate better services and rates, and the state has no interest in regulating cable TV companies. In the end, the "little guy" is screwed thanks to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the bill into law, and former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who co-sponsored the law.