Time Warner Wisconsin Faces Loss of Channels

Via Directsattv.com - Time Warner Cable of Wisconsin and The Walt Disney Company, the parent corporation of ABC and ESPN, are locked in a dispute that threatens to deprive up to 600,000 Time Warner subscribers of their access to the Disney-owned channels after September 2.

On that date, the contract between Time Warner Wisconsin and Disney will expire. At stake is the fees that Time Warner Wisconsin pays the Disney networks to carry their programming. These fees can be high in the case of popular channels like ABC or ESPN, and cable providers, who are feeling more tightly squeezed these days, have been trying to negotiate them down. Content providers such as Disney, however, say that they need these fees to cover the costs of producing new programming.

As of this writing, both sides have submitted plans and negotiations are ongoing between Time Warner Wisconsin and Disney. If no agreement is reached before the contract expires, Time Warner customers in Wisconsin will lose access to 13 channels, including ABC, ABC Family, the Disney Channel, and the entire ESPN family of channels (although a few local ABC affiliates will not be affected). Both companies are also waging public relations battles, with commercials and Web sites to persuade the public to side with them.

Time Warner is the biggest cable provider in southern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, so many Wisconsin residents are watching the outcome of the negotiations with extreme interest. Some are not waiting to find out what happens, but are choosing to switch to alternative cable providers, such as DirecTV, in order to ensure that they keep their channels whatever happens.

Time Warner Wisconsin customers who are concerned about losing their channels can seek an alternative by callling 866-310-4985 to order DirecTV before the September 2 expiration date. Switching to DirecTV will ensure no loss of programming.

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