Time Warner Cable and CNN en Espanol are providing free Haitian earthquake coverage to all subscribers through January 21.

CNN en Espanol provides Spanish language breaking news updates, and this special free access is available to all subscribers in North and South Carolina.

CNN en Espanol is on channel 381 in the Raleigh and Fayetteville area, 555 in Charlotte, 897 in Wilmington, and 163 in Greensboro.

But you'll probably be paying more.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that News Corp. struck a new deal that will keep its Fox-owned television stations and several of its cable networks on Time Warner Cable.

The agreement was reached late this afternoon, but a series of extensions meant that Fox channels never went dark.

Fox, the paper reports, had initially been seeking $1 per subscriber each month for its television stations. Time Warner Cable’s initial response was to offer 25 cents to 30 cents. The terms of the new deal could not be immediately learned, but industry observers and analysts had been predicting that the price tag would ultimately be 50 cents or less for Fox.

If you were unfazed by the impending loss of FX and the Fuel channel tonight, thanks to the News Corp. battle with Time Warner Cable, perhaps the prospect of losing the Food Network will be enough to get your cheeks beet red.

Especially since this Sunday's big "Super Chef Battle" episode was to feature Michelle Obama and a special White House Garden showdown between Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and White House Chef Cristeta Comerford.

.biz blog has more details of the dispute between TWC and Scripps Network, which also owns HGTV and the Travel Channel. 

Add Great American Country to the list of channels that could go dark for Time Warner Cable customers at midnight.

Scripps Networks is the parent of that channel as well as the Food Network. Both channels are in a last-minute contract dispute with Time Warner Cable. Losing the Food Network would be a blow over the New Year's weekend, when the channel's fans want an alternative to football games.

This Sunday's big "Super Chef Battle" episode was to feature Michelle Obama and a special White House Garden showdown between Emeril Lagasse, left, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and White House Chef Cristeta Comerford.

"We are in negotiations with Time Warner as we speak," said Scripps spokeswoman Cindy McConkey. "We are not going to make any comment while we're proceeding with negotiations."

If a resolution isn't reached by midnight, Time Warner Cable has lined up replacement programming for those channels, said spokeswoman Melissa Buscher.

Local Time Warner Cable customers won't lose Fox (WRAZ Fox 50) and Fox News, but it looks like all other Fox channels are expected to disappear today, due to the ongoing contract dispute between the cable company and News Corp.

Fuel, Speed, and Fox Soccer will not be missed by me personally, but losing the FX channel would be a blow ("Damges," "Nip/Tuck," "Rescue Me"). 

Get more details over at the .biz blog.

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 is 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.

It's coming down to the wire in Time Warner Cable's dispute with Fox channels and other cable TV programmers.

Time Warner says viewers' favorite programs could be yanked in a matter of days when its broadcast rights expire at midnight Thursday.

Local TV aficionados can expect to continue being regaled with Time Warner ads that began appearing Thanksgiving weekend. The ads, running nationwide, blast the programmers for jacking up prices to levels that Time Warner can't live with, in some cases raising costs by 300 percent.

Meanwhile, the hard-headed negotiations continue with the programmers over how much Time Warner will have to pay to broadcast the programs. Time Warner says it would be forced to pass on those price increases to its customers.

Sigh, not again.

Time Warner Cable is battling it out with another network, this time putting the FX channel on the line.  Alan Wolf at the .biz blog reports that the cable company is negotiating a new deal with News Corp., and if an agreement is not reached, local cable customers could miss shows like "Damages," "Nip/Tuck," and "Rescue Me."

Earlier this month, TWC had a similar stand-off with The CW, and last year, there was a contract dispute with Viacom (MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon). Get all the horrifying details at .biz.

Triangle cable-TV viewers could start a new year without channels such as FX, Fuel, Speed TV and Fox Soccer.

Media giants News Corp. and Time Warner Cable are fighting over money, and the dispute could lead to some Fox channels going dark on Jan. 1. The two companies are still in negotiations and their current contract expires Dec. 31.

News Corp. today began warning Time Warner Cable customers about the "very likely possibility" that they will lose access to Fox programming.

In some markets where News Corp. owns the local Fox stations, the dispute could affect Fox's flagship channel, home to popular shows such as "Glee," "House" and "American Idol."  

But the Triangle's Fox 50 affiliate is owned by Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting and is not part of the dispute, said Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Melissa Buscher.

The bickering could lead to local cable customers losing other channels owned by News Corp., including FX, home to shows such as "Nip/Tuck," "Damages" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Other Fox channels include Fuel, Speed TV, Fox Reality and Fox Sports World Espanol.

Time Warner Cable is raising its rates again, an annual occurrence the company blames on its programmers.

Most of the increases are between $3 and $5 a month. Time Warner's letter to customers says the that sports and broadcast programming are the biggest contributor to the price increases.

The rate increases go into effect Dec. 27. They were announced in bill inserts that were mailed out in the past three weeks.