Time Warner Ohio Could Lose Football Coverage

Via Directsattv.com - Time Warner Ohio 's contract with the Walt Disney Company, owner of ESPN, ABC, and other channels, expires on September 1, 2010. However, Time Warner is currently embroiled in a battle with Disney over the fees the cable provider pays to carry Disney programming, and there is currently no agreement on a new contract.

This means that Time Warner Ohio customers could miss out on seeing Ohio State University football games that air on Disney's ESPN after that date. That includes the September 11 game, when the Buckeyes play host to the University of Miami Hurricanes, a game many Buckeye fans have been eagerly anticipating. Also potentially affected will be October 16's contest with the University of Wisconsin and October 30's game against the University of Minnesota, as well as any other Ohio State games that ESPN chooses to pick up.

Time Warner Ohio has argued that Disney's fees are excessive, especially for popular channels such as ESPN, which charges some of the highest fees of any cable channel. Disney, however, says the fees are necessary to cover the costs of producing original programming. Both companies have launched Web sites and are running commercials to persuade the public to their side, and blame any interruption in programming on each other.

If no agreement is reached by September 1, 2.3 million Time Warner Ohio subscribers will see up to 13 channels disappear from their TVs, including ABC, ABC Family, the Disney Channel, and the ESPN family of channels. (Some local ABC affiliates may not be affected.) This includes customers in major cities such as Cincinnati and Columbus.

Many OSU fans, and Time Warner Ohio subscribers, are switching to alternative cable providers rather than wait for the outcome of negotiations. Call DirecTV at 866-310-4985 to make the switch and ensure you see all the Ohio State games that are broadcast on ESPN.

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