Ay, caramba! Viewers could lose 'The Simpsons'
By Ryan Nakashima |
January 1, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HOMER, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie could disappear from the TVs of cable subscribers across the United States in a bitter dispute over fees the Fox television network is demanding.
If a new deal isn't reached, programs that could disappear from Time Warner Cable Inc's lineup include "The Simpsons" and several football games - among them, today's Sugar Bowl, tomorrow's Cotton Bowl and the NFL's final regular season contests on Sunday.
As a midnight deadline approached last night, Time Warner Cable offered an olive branch that could leave the Fox network and some of its cable TV channels on the lineup for millions of subscribers - for now.
Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said the cable TV operator will agree to binding arbitration and any interim steps necessary to keep Fox channels on while talks continue.
Besides the Fox broadcast network, six cable channels - FX, Speed, Fuel, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer and Fox Sports en Espanol - and certain regional sports networks were also up for negotiation throughout the Time Warner Cable and Bright House service territories. Unaffected are Fox News, Fox Business Network and National Geographic, which is partially owned by News Corp. Those three are covered by deals that aren't expiring yet.
In dispute are the fees Time Warner Cable Inc pays Fox to carry its channels. In the past, the Fox network was offered free, and cable companies paid more for other cable channels that News Corp also owns.
This time, News Corp is demanding US$1 per subscriber every month for the network.
If a new deal isn't reached, programs that could disappear from Time Warner Cable Inc's lineup include "The Simpsons" and several football games - among them, today's Sugar Bowl, tomorrow's Cotton Bowl and the NFL's final regular season contests on Sunday.
As a midnight deadline approached last night, Time Warner Cable offered an olive branch that could leave the Fox network and some of its cable TV channels on the lineup for millions of subscribers - for now.
Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said the cable TV operator will agree to binding arbitration and any interim steps necessary to keep Fox channels on while talks continue.
Besides the Fox broadcast network, six cable channels - FX, Speed, Fuel, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer and Fox Sports en Espanol - and certain regional sports networks were also up for negotiation throughout the Time Warner Cable and Bright House service territories. Unaffected are Fox News, Fox Business Network and National Geographic, which is partially owned by News Corp. Those three are covered by deals that aren't expiring yet.
In dispute are the fees Time Warner Cable Inc pays Fox to carry its channels. In the past, the Fox network was offered free, and cable companies paid more for other cable channels that News Corp also owns.
This time, News Corp is demanding US$1 per subscriber every month for the network.
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