The Inquisitr » viacom

Last Minute Deal Keeps Viacom Content on Time Warner Cable

Duncan Riley — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:23:53 +0000

Time Warner Cable has reached a last minute deal with Viacom Inc. on carriage fees, avoiding a blackout of 19 cable channels to around 15 million customers.

Channels that would have disappeared from the United State’s second largest cable provider included Comedy Central, Logo, BET, Spike, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Noggin, The N, Nick Jr., TEENick, MTV, VH1, MTV2, CMT and Palladia.

The channels were expected to be pulled at midnight January 1. Viacom has been asking viewers to lobby Time Warner to come to a deal.

Details of the agreement are said to still be finalized, but reports suggest that Time Warner has agreed to the high rates demanded by Viacom.

Time Warner Cable Customers: Say Good Bye to Nick, MTV and Comedy Central

Duncan Riley — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:53:08 +0000

A break down in negotiations between Viacom and Time Warner Cable will mean customers on Time Warner’s cable network, the second largest in the United States, will no longer be able to view Viacom channels from January 1.

Channels to go from Time Warner include (not everyone has all these to start with) Comedy Central, Logo, BET, Spike, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Noggin, The N, Nick Jr., TEENick, MTV, VH1, MTV2, CMT and Palladia.

Viacom claims it has been trying to negotiate a fair renewal of its cable channels for months, but claims Time Warner Cable has been unresponsive and unreasonable. Time Warner claims Viacom is asking for exorbitant increases in carriage fees which would have to be passed along to the customer, reports the Huffington Post.

Who ever is to blame, the net result is the same: if you’re on Time Warner Cable, no Viacom content for you from midnight, January 1, reportedly EST so 9pm December 31 on the West Coast. Around 12.3 million customers will be affected by the dispute.

Viacom though isn’t going out without a scene, running the following ad across its entire network to Time Warner customers.

Another day, another round of cuts: Viacom 850, CNBC 80

Duncan Riley — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:50:36 +0000

Media giant Viacom has announced a 7% reduction in its workforce, or 850 employees.

Viacom said in a statement that cuts would be implemented across all divisions of the company, which includes MTV Networks, BET, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks movie studios. The restructuring and write-down will result in a pre-tax charge of $400 million to $450 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, but will deliver a result in pre-tax savings of $200 million to $250 million in 2009.

The New York Post reports that cable channel CNBC is expected to deliver 80 pink slips today. The report notes that CNBC has been spared cost-cutting efforts conducted by NBC to date.

Parent company NBCU announced a 3% across the board cut in October.