No More SpongeBob?

Media giant Viacom says Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and its 16 other channels could go dark for 13 million subscribers just after midnight.

By: Christian Stapleton | WKRG-TV
Published: December 31, 2008

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - "SpongeBob SquarePants" is at risk of being
thrown off Time Warner Cable.
Media giant Viacom says Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and its
16 other channels could go dark for 13 million subscribers just
after midnight if a new fee deal with Time Warner Cable isn't
agreed to.
The impasse would mean "SpongeBob" and other popular shows
like Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" could be cut off. The
nation's second-largest cable operator primarily serves customers
in New York state, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and
Texas.
A Time Warner Cable executive says Viacom asked for fee
increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel, which
he says could increase customers' cable bills. A Viacom spokeswoman
says the requested increase was in the very low double-digit
percentage range.