Time Warner Cable Makes Dora the Explorer Weep

(MoneyWatch)  Score one for Viacom in the public relations battle that has broken out over Time Warner Cable's alleged refusal to pay more for carrying Viacom channels including Nickelodeon and Noggin. I've scanned in a picture from an unforgettable ad that ran in today's New York Times using insipid kiddie cartoon character Dora the Explorer to demonize Time Warner. "TIME WARNER CABLE IS TAKING DORA OFF THE AIR TONIGHT! Along with 19 of your favorite channels! CALL 1-212-358-0900 NOW!" the text of the ad screams. (According to Advertising Age, another ad prostitutes SpongeBob SquarePants for the same cause.)

While TWC has remained silent so far, Viacom has not only created this eye-catching ad campaign, but also issued a statement yesterday, saying, in part:

The move by Time Warner Cable to force such channels as Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL and MTV off the air is another example of a cable company overreaching for profit at the expense of its viewers.

The [license] renewal we are seeking is reasonable and modest relative to the profits TWC enjoys from our networks. We have asked for an increase of less than 25 cents per month, per subscriber, which adds up to less than a penny per day for all 19 of MTV Networks' channels.

In truth, Viacom is pulling the plug on TWC, but, to the uninitiated, the language above paints a different picture. Those meanies at the evil cable company!

While there's nothing new about content producers and cable companies trying to call each other's bluff -- with the consumer squarely in the middle -- against the backdrop of the struggling economy and increased competition, it will be fascinating to see how this fight plays out. As Mediapost notes, TWC, now a separate, public company from Time Warner -- is asking its subscribers for a $3 increase in the monthly subscription rate. Surely, its customers won't be pleased to pay more so they can have the privilege of not having access to, say, The Daily Show. And with phone companies such as Verizon refining their TV offerings, and programming including The Daily Show now available for free online, consumers now have alternatives.

Meanwhile, if the Viacom channels stay off of TWC for any amount of time, Viacom will have to offer make-goods to advertisers (basically, additional airtime to compensate for ratings shortfalls) or charge them less. Still, TWC will have to give in, at some point. The only question is price. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: As of late this afternoon, TWC CEO Glenn Britt issued a statement saying the company had "asked for an extension of the current contract while we continue to negotiate, [b]ut Viacom doesn't appear to be interested in what's fair and reasonable for American consumers." For more tit-for-tat read this story in Mediaweek. Doesn't this make you nostalgic for the presidential campaign? Not!