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NYC Viewers Get ABC Back as Oscars Begin

Disney-Cablevision dispute caused 3.1M to lose telecast

By the Associated Press

Posted Mar 7, 2010 9:31 PM CST
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(AP) – The TV signal was switched back on for Cablevision's 3.1 million subscribers in the New York area shortly after tonight's Academy Awards telecast got under way. Channel 7, the local ABC affiliate, returned at 8:43 pm, 13 minutes into the show. A Cablevision spokesman said a deal was reached in a dispute over millions of dollars in fees that had led ABC's parent company, the Walt Disney Co., to pull its programming from the cable operator's subscribers at midnight Saturday.

The companies had been bickering about how much Disney was paid by Cablevision for the right to transmit the ABC signal to cable subscribers. The spokesman declined to disclose the details of the deal. Disney CEO Bob Iger was seen in the Oscar audience, about a minute after Cablevision announced it had reached a deal to get the telecast on the air.

Cablevision CEO James Dolan at a news conference in New York, Jan. 11, 2006. In a dispute with Disney, Cablevision pulled the plug on 3.1 million customers today, restoring service before the Oscars.
Cablevision CEO James Dolan at a news conference in New York, Jan. 11, 2006. In a dispute with Disney, Cablevision pulled the plug on 3.1 million customers today, restoring service before the Oscars.   (KATHY WILLENS)
Ryan Seacrest, who hosted the red carpet arrivals coverage on ABC, arrives at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7, 2010, in Los Angeles.
Ryan Seacrest, who hosted the red carpet arrivals coverage on ABC, arrives at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7, 2010, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
timeandagain
Mar 8, 2010 4:00 AM CST
What are the Academy Awards?
CHRiSTFELD
Mar 8, 2010 3:52 AM CST
What a shame it would've been had we New Yorkers been culturally deprived by missing the Academy Awards! ("Oh, that was on tonight?")

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

 
entertainment • Academy Awards • Cablevision • Disney • WABC • Oscars

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