Why Isn't Fox Gone From My TV Yet?
The great Time Warner Cable-Fox TV standoff continues. Though TWC threatened to stop broadcasting Fox's channels at midnight last night, the deadline has extended and negotiations are still under way—and nobody knows whether the Sugar Bowl will air!
Obviously, this contest will measure, once and for all, who has the bigger balls: Murdoch or Time Warner chief Glenn Britt?
As of 10AM PST Fox and TWC execs were "still talking" despite an ad declaring "Good news from Time Warning Cable! With your support we've reached an agreement with FOX that protects our customers' pocketbooks" airing in New York and North Carolina. TV MoJoe reports the ad was a "mistake." Heads must be rolling so hard at Time Warner HQ right now.
As of 3:30PM EST all of Fox's TWC channels were still airing.
And so we return to the impasse: Nobody knows what will happen next! By turning the pricing clash into a public call to arms, Time Warner raised the stakes from mere money squabble to some elaborate Noh theater allegory about the shame associated with losing face. The Associated Press reports that the 8:30PM EST broadcast of the Sugar Bowl is still in jeopardy, to the chagrin of football fans nationwide, including Sen. John Kerry, who has urged both companies to let America see whether the Gators clobber the Bearcats or not.
