Time Warner Cable, Viacom Settle Dispute

After sparring over rate fees during the New Year's Eve holiday, Time Warner Cable and Viacom came to an agreement to renew carriage of Viacom's MTV Networks, which include Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central. The deal, made just after the contract's midnight deadline on January 1, ensures that shows like "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Colbert Report" will still be available to TWC's 13.3 million subscribers. Viacom had demanded a 23 cent increase per subscriber to cover its total channel portfolio and was threatening to pull the 20 cable networks for which Time Warner pays a rights fee. Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman said the increase was justified because MTV had been underpriced, while Time Warner said a recession was no time to seek more money. A Viacom executive said the final terms will be worked out in the next few days, according to the New York Times.