Officials with the parent of Fox broadcasting say they don't expect to reach an agreement with Time Warner Cable and plan to pull programming from the cable system at midnight tomorrow.
In the Triangle, that means Time Warner customers likely will lose access to FX, Fuel, Speed, Fox Soccer and other channels. In this market, Fox 50 and Fox News are not part of the dispute over money.
"We deeply regret that millions of Fox customers will be deprived of our programming," News Corp. chief operating officer Chase Carey wrote in a memo to employees today. "We need to receive fair compensation from Time Warner Cable to go forward."
Earlier today came word that Time Warner officials would accept federal mediation to settle the spat. Time Warner also said it would like to enter into an interim agreement to continue carrying Fox programming on Jan. 1 and beyond.
"That's not our call," said local Time Warner spokeswoman Melissa Buscher. "It's totally up to them. We're putting replacement programming in place" in case a deal isn't reached by midnight.
Time Warner also is in last-minute negotiations with other programmers, but has declined to identify which channels are threatened. Reports indicate that the Food Network and Great American Country could go dark.
The cable provider serves about 2 million customers in the Carolinas, including 800,000 from Raleigh to the coast.
Last year Time Warner faced off with Viacom in a feud that nearly resulted in MTV, Comedy Central and other channels going off the air. That dispute was resolved shortly after the new year began.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or
Comments
Earth to Agent Pierce
Thu, 12/31/2009 - 00:30 — SeafeverIt's "impasse".
So what's it about, Agent Pierce, if not a liberal media attempt to shut up
the opposing viewpoint?
Liberal media??? Opposing viewpoint???
Thu, 12/31/2009 - 10:34 — kpeddiFox Soccer? Speed? FX? Fuel?
These are the opposing viewpoints???
Foxies, don't get your panties in a bunch. Faux News will still be around to give your your opinion...
TWC monopoly is over
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 23:22 — davescottOf course TWC says they are willing to let a government arbitrator step into their dispute with Fox. Hmm ... could it be because they know this radical Congress has a very large vendetta against Fox? Nah, didn't think so. And, this is the same company that would not consider an independent arbitrator to settle their issue with the NFL Network, citing the same exact reason now given by Fox. Wake up people. TWC thinks ALL of their subscribers are stupid. What I can't understand is why they went public. This strategy has back fired in so many ways. Today I heard a Dish Network radio ad saying, "aren't you sick of Time Warner dropping your favorite channels and never adding the ones you want like the NFL Network?". It's all over the news an on the Internet. They are losing the PR game big time. Only the uninformed thinks TWC is right here. Let me ask you ... when the Fox channels go away are you going to ask for a refund? Didn't think so-- guess what, the rates just went up (AGAIN) anyway.
Its a 99.9% assurance that
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 21:49 — AgentPierceIts a 99.9% assurance that absolutely no one posting here including me has the slightest clue what this empasse is really about ..... but that won't stop all the "I hate _____" rants. NOTHING stops the "I hate ____" rants.
Good for TWC
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 19:14 — authorityncI don't like TWC either. But News. Corp is being the bully here. They're the ones wanting money for broadcast stations, which will create a domino effect and our bills will rise even more. TWC doesn't want to have to raise their customer bills. I like some shows on fx, but I wont miss them that much. There's itunes and DVD. Don't back down TW
Goodbye Fox
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 18:37 — uncheelGoodbye Fox - You tried to hold Time Warner's feet to the fire and all you got was burn feet - yours.
Raleigh should pull their monopoly
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 18:29 — jap1212Time Warner pulls the most popular stations--why do we have to put up with this? Raleigh, take some control.
The Big Bully Strikes Again
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 18:12 — marcus_stahlMore Bullying by Time Warner, they have pulled their little temper tantrums time and time again. Time Warner should do something else, like concentrate on customer service, something they don't know the meaning of. I dropped them 2 years ago because of poor customer service, poor channel transmission quality, I also dropped them because they refused to offer more music channels in the audio band. I think everyone should drop TWC and try out Dishnetwork or Direct TV, Dish has the best 1080p signal and better channel broadcast quality and better selections>Goodbyye TWC.