On Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 5:25 PM EST
It what could be a major blow for TNA, a problem with negotiations between Viacom Inc. and Time Warner Cable may result in programming being pulled as of midnight tonight. Viacom is threatening to pull its key stations, which includes Spike TV, Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, TV Land and BET, from Time Warner which covers 13% of all cable homes in the United States including a strong number in New York and Los Angeles.
Viacom is running a graphic on all of those channels letting viewers know they can contact Time Warner to pressure the company into agreeing to a rate increase of around $37 million per year to carry the 20 channels. The Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online reports Viacom appears to be doing this as a power play to make up for lost advertising revenue. Both Viacom and Time Warner will be big losers if this situation isn't settled, especially losing homes in big markets like New York and Los Angeles.