Time Warner Cable and Walt Disney Co. have signed a long-term contract that will keep the Disney Channel, ABC Family and ESPN channels on the air for Time Warner's 2.1 million customers in the Carolinas.
The two media giants announced their contract this afternoon, following a weeklong public display of finger-pointing as negotiations pushed up against deadlines and flirted with blackouts for millions of customers across the country.
The deal means that Time Warner will carry several new channels, including Disney Junior, ESPN3.com, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater and expanded services in California and New York.
This region's ABC station, WTVD, is one of 10 across the country owned by Disney and was part of the negotiations.
The public dispute between Disney and Time Warner is only the most recent such manifestation of corporate bad blood. In January, Time Warner reached a last-minute deal with News Corp., ending a standoff and avoiding programming disruptions.
As in past negotiations, Disney demanded more money for its programs, while Time Warner resisted paying higher fees per subscriber. The terms of today's deal were not disclosed.
The previous contract had expired at midnight, but both sides agreed to keep programs on the air as the talks continued. This bait-and-switch has been a standard maneuver in these kinds of public spats, with the hardnosed negotiators threatening to cut programming if the other side doesn't buckle, then relenting to keep the shows going while the talks continue.
In past years, such programming negotiations took place behind the scenes, but as the stakes have risen and deals have become challenging, the media giants have taken out newspaper ads and launched Web sites, blaming the other side for intransigence.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or
Comments
Cut the cable
Thu, 09/02/2010 - 23:42 — arnieaWorried about your bill? Cut your cable. There are lots of choices on broadcast TV. Best part... it's free.
here comes the rate increases
Thu, 09/02/2010 - 21:09 — hoosierhysteriaMy cable bill went up almost $50 a year after the TWC/News Corps fight. Immediately after that debacle, TWC was also mum about the results of the resolution, until the first affacted cable bill arrived a couple months later. Another example of the middle class consumer losing again.
TWC / Disney-ESPN
Thu, 09/02/2010 - 18:24 — mjroth... and the 400lb gorilla in the room is how much will our service bills go up as a result of this "deal"???