NEWARK, NJ - Newark's Cablevision Systems Corp. subscribers were among the cable company's 3.1 million tri-state subscribers who saw static when they tried to tune into the ABC channel March 7 while the company and the television network negotiated a payment agreement.
Cablevision stopped carrying ABC programming at 12:01 a.m. and kept the channel dark until the two parties came to an agreement.
ABC returned to Cablevision at 8:43 p.m. - 13 minutes into its live coverage of the 52nd Academy Awards. Motion picture fans were among 3.1 million Cablevision viewers in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut who missed out on the start of the Oscars.
Details about Cablevision's settlement with Disney Corp., ABC-TV's parent company, were not disclosed. It is believed that the two companies were arguing between $34 and $40 million in carrying fees.
Cablevision had a similar dispute with Scripps Network Interactive, which provided the Food Network and Home & Garden channels, over the winter. Scripps halted transmission of said programming for three weeks until it and Cablevision reached an agreement.
Time Warner and the Fox Channels were in a similar debate in late August. Fox, which includes WNYW Channel 5, Fox News, Fox Business and Speed TV, threatened to withhold its programming before an agreement was reached.
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