Oscars broadcast imperiled for 3.1 million customers in NY cable dispute
By APSaturday, March 6, 2010
Deadline looms in Cablevision-ABC feud
NEW YORK — Cablevision’s 3.1 million customers in New York could lose access to the Academy Awards if ABC’s parent company follows through on a threat to pull the plug at midnight Saturday in a dispute over payments.
Cablevision says The Walt Disney Co. is seeking an additional $40 million a year in new fees for the right to carry its New York affiliate, WABC-TV.
The dispute is similar to a standoff at the end of last year between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable over how much Fox television station signals were worth.
That tussle was resolved without a signal interruption.
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