College OTR: Amidst Viacom War With Time Warner Cable, MTV Airs Sad Miley Cyrus New Year's Show

Amidst Viacom War With Time Warner Cable, MTV Airs Sad Miley Cyrus New Year's Show

Posted by Tracy O'Neill 12/31/2008 11:36 AM
Category: Tags: viacom time warner, miley cyrus new year, mtv new year, mtv, viacom, time warner cable

Remember when MTV used to be cool? I don’t. But it at least used to be kind of alright. This year the network has abandoned all attempts to hide their gaucheness with FNMTV Presents: A Miley-Sized Surprise… New Year’s Eve 2009. Seriously, MTV, what are you doing? Targeting the 3 to 9 year-old demographic?

The MTV website describes the NYE special in gory pre-pubescent detail: "To top off a New Year's Eve celebration that's already easily the pinnacle of a showstopping year, MTV is going HUGE – 5'4" huge – with a Miley-sized surprise! Watch as Miley Cyrus shows up on one of her biggest fan's doorsteps for a full day of fun, gifts and performances ... live from that lucky fan's bedroom! Meanwhile, back in Times Square, the party will be raging with The Veronicas, All Time Low, The Academy Is... and Kevin Rudolf. It's a gigantic finish to an awesome year. Peace out, 2008! What up, 2009?"

Yeah, sounds like a rager. The network might as well have also invited the Jonas Brothers to play a festive game of Parcheesi and make a sparkling cider toast. Then again, maybe even the Jonas Brothers declined?

Of course MTV may have been a bit wrapped up in the Viacom-Time Warner dispute as its parent company feuds with Time Warner for the right to get greedy during the recession by increasing fees for its channels. And it really does become difficult figuring out a reasonable New Year’s Eve Special when you’re trying to squeeze money out of viewers for quality televised programming like Bromance and The City.

+ 63 comments

Anonymous says,

Uh, Miley's fan base is far beyone the 3-9 year old demographic. She is very popular with older teens and College kids now. In fact her non-Hannah fan base is made up mostly of the 14-25 age range. I think MTV has finally figured out that Clean postive message music is in BIG demand right now and for the forseeable future and they are in the business of giving the people what they want. Posted 12/31/2008 12:35 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I agree with the above anon. Teen & Young adults are MTV's prime demographic and Miley is very popular with them. She's not JUST Hannah Montana anymore. I will be watching =] Posted 12/31/2008 1:00 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Agreed, honestly this article seems a bit nit picky. Who is watching TV this new year anyway? Its time to enough spend time with friends and family. I want my 2 minutes back...like seriously :p Posted 12/31/2008 1:15 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Well. I think it's funny how it's all going down live from the lucky fan's bedroom. Because I love spending new years eve in my bedroom. Something about it just seems so safe. Everyone, go to your room! And don't come out until it's 2009. Posted 12/31/2008 2:00 PMReply

Anonymous says,

this is fricken retarded! why does mtv need triple the price! they need to stop producing stupid bisexual shows and stupid shows like the hills, bromance, the city and all those other shows. what happened to TRL and music videos! Posted 12/31/2008 3:40 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I read this article for the last paragraph, GREED. I would miss MTV and the other 18 channels to a degree, but not enough to take more money out of my already empty pockets. I am really tired of high level execs making millions of dollars from the average Joe. I am sure their bonus for this year was sufficient without another added pay raise. Their price to make these shows is so low now that practically everything is reality TV. So the less it costs to make the more money they want. NICE! Happy Holidays! Posted 12/31/2008 7:36 PMReply

Anonymous says,

As retarded as I personally think "A Very Miley New Years" is, it IS their demographic and it's not necessarily 9-13 but as a previous poster noted, goes from teens to college age. I find this article a sad attempt by Time Warner to plead a weak case to it's customers, passing the buck. The fact is, Dish and DirectTV both have agreements with Viacom - This feels like just typical of companies like TW to maximize their profits at the expense of their customers. Posted 12/31/2008 8:28 PMReply

Anonymous says,

i say shut mtv down but dont shut down nicklelodean channels either way mtv has been sucking for the past 20 years. Posted 12/31/2008 8:37 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Please don't take away noggin! It's the only channel my toddlers watch and it gives me a few minutes of peace!!!!! Posted 12/31/2008 8:52 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Actually I remember when Mtv was cool, and then it stopped, I fell out of love with it when they started playing less music and more reality shows. As far as the show, never mind, I agree with the above Anon Noggin is the only channel out of all them that I am worried about losing for my toddler. Posted 12/31/2008 8:58 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I think they should just shut down MTV and leave all the other channels alone. Nobody watches MTV anymore since they barely play music anymore. I remember MTV being music television not suck all your customers dry of their money. Now my niece won't be able to watch dora when she comes over. Thanks for ruining my 2yr old niece's youth!!!! >=( Posted 12/31/2008 8:59 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Viacom wouldn't be demanding so much money to replenish their war chest if they had good programs running to begin with. I've just about had enough of the never ending rerun of movies on Spike and needless to say some of the shows they cling to on TV Land could surely be added to. For goodness sake, how many sitcoms were around in the 70s and 60s! Posted 12/31/2008 9:03 PMReply

Anonymous says,

i love watching most mtv shows such as the hills and the city (even though i wont be watching the miley virus new years thing) but its unfair for viacom to ask for more and more money. and i dont always like watching videos on the computer; id rather watch it on a tv screen. i mean dont we already pay enough for cable???????????????? Posted 12/31/2008 9:13 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I dont care about MTV, its no good anymore, I remember when we watched it for videos. I dont want to lose my Nick channels, my girls love watching them. If they want that much more money maybe they should try living in the average household with two working adults doing their best to make ends meet and cable is just a luxury that we can barely afford. The other two that shouldnt be removed are Spike and Comedy Central, hubby and I watch those together. People always have to be GREEDY and not happy with what they have!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted 12/31/2008 9:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

i say keep every channel on the air it is not fair for this guy to take them off the air Posted 12/31/2008 9:34 PMReply

Anonymous says,

@ Anonymous: Amen to that.
WE got the expanded service because of the kids. And now they reduce us down to two channels for them? I want my Nick channels or i go satellite dish. Posted 12/31/2008 9:39 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Time warner cable will lose my 215 dollars a month they rip me off for, because 99% of the time the tv is on its on Noggin or nickJr.

Sorry Ill go somewhere else with better customer service, and lower prices who don't pull this kinda crap every couple of years. Posted 12/31/2008 9:41 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I think its just another way for Time Warner to take more money out their customers pockets. Who watches MTV anyone. Its a very boring channel. The other channels could stay but I won't pay any extra than I am already paying for tv from Time Warner. We need to start a class action lawsuit against both companies for wanting to bleed all the customers dry. Posted 12/31/2008 9:45 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I agree with the anon. above me.. They should keep all the channels and viacom should stop being so freaking greedy. The only time my 2 toddler boys are ever calm is if I turn on noggin and they will not tolerate no spongebob and Icarly. So if Viacom continues to be stupid and trying to rip us off maybe I will send my 2 kids over to their houses when I tell them that they cant watch spongebob anymore.. Posted 12/31/2008 9:50 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Dish, here I come...and I'm taking my internet service as well as land line home phone account with me.

Screw the greed. Tired of it. Posted 12/31/2008 9:51 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Miley is a horrible influence for kids!! My neighbors daughter thinks that if she puts a wig on she becomes a pop star. Miley has just screwed up todays youth. They will grow up with multiple personalities! Posted 12/31/2008 9:59 PMReply

Anonymous says,

^
^
Idiot alert. I suppose having an imagination for a child is a bad thing to you. Stick to worrying about your child and leave parenting of others alone. Multiple personalities...lol. Posted 12/31/2008 10:05 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I think we are all missing the BOTTOM LINE here. VIACOM is asking for near triple the money and no new service or shows. This would be like ordering a pizza for $10 except when it got to your door they would ask for $30 for the same exact pizza Posted 12/31/2008 10:27 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Time Warner calls Viacom greedy , well that was the excuse they used for not carying the NFL network and WWE 24/7 . Plus they claim to have free hd channels , but I get a bill every month charging me for 3 HD channels for $6.85 . I guess they are the greedy ones aren't they. Posted 12/31/2008 10:29 PMReply

Anonymous says,

you might want to look closer at your bill. i have the same charge but it is for an added tier that is not part of the free programing. just found this out last month Posted 12/31/2008 10:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

It's actually a 12% increase, but still... Both companies need to not be so greedy. Wonder how much Viacom spent on their ad campaign? They plan on running ads on local stations starting 1/1/09 if no agreement has been made. Wonder when Viacom's contracts with the satellite providers expire? Will they see the same increase in price? Posted 12/31/2008 10:36 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I could care less about the channels disappearing with the exception of noggin for my kids Posted 12/31/2008 10:36 PMReply

Anonymous says,

But the high-stakes dispute could prove to be different this time around because much of Viacom's programming, including Comedy Central's John Stewart and Steven Colbert, is now available free online. Moreover, Viacom no longer owns CBS, so it can't threaten to pull the network off cable systems on the eve of NFL playoffs, as leverage in negotiations. The hard-nosed tactics also come at a time when Viacom's stock is trading at historic lows and the company's controlling shareholder, Sumner Redstone, is facing hard choices in refinacing the debt of his holding company, National Amusements Inc. Posted 12/31/2008 10:38 PMReply

Anonymous says,

NFL network wants 70 cents per subscriber (ALL 13 million of them) to carry the NFL network. That's $19 mil a year just for that one channel. They also refuse to allow TW to bundle it in a sports tier which would reduce it to 70 cents for each customer that got that tier. Posted 12/31/2008 10:40 PMReply

Anonymous says,

And TWC is offering a credit if Viacom does pull the channels. Viacom's gotten too big for its own good & needs to be brought to its senses. I'm in total agreement with TWC. Posted 12/31/2008 10:40 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I agree, MTV has sucked since they took Music out of it. I hate to lose Noggin, like everyone else with a toddler. And yes, I want the OPTION of having the NFL Network. But don't say taking Noggin off will "ruin" someone's life. Please. I love it, but get your perspective & priorities in check. Posted 12/31/2008 10:41 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I'd pay 70 cents for NFL Network, but you know TW would charge at least $5...they nickle and dime you to death...$5 at a time! Check your bill. Posted 12/31/2008 10:44 PMReply

Anonymous says,

READ THIS********FREE CONTENT

Viacom has also filed suit against google and you tube for allowing all th free content.

A recent discovery order by the Federal Court hearing the case of Viacom v. YouTube has triggered concern about what information will be disclosed by Google and YouTube and how it will be used. Viacom has not asked for and will not be obtaining any personally identifiable information of any YouTube user. The personally identifiable information that YouTube collects from its users will be stripped from the data before it is transferred to Viacom. Viacom will use the data exclusively for the purpose of proving our case against You Tube and Google.

Viacom has been in discussions with Google to develop a framework to share this data. We are committed to a process that will not only comply with the Courtâ��s confidentiality order, but that will also meet our commitment to the strongest possible internet privacy protections.

It is unfortunate that we have been compelled to go to court to protect Viacomâ��s rights and the rights of the artists who work with and depend on us. YouTube and Google have put us in this position by continuing to defend their illegal and irresponsible conduct and by profiting from copyright infringement, when they could be implementing the safe and legal user generated content experience they promise. Posted 12/31/2008 10:51 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I have a great idea to boost MTV's ratings. . . how about showing music videos??!!! I mean MTV is the acronym for Music Television right?? Ratings go up and no need to increase the price. Posted 12/31/2008 10:55 PMReply

Anonymous says,

MTV used to be about music and videos....now its about Miley Fricken Cyrus....Give me a break. We already pay too much for cable. You millionaires want us average people to pay your bills. Screw you. My son will miss Nickelodeon more than I will miss MTV. YOu can take the channels away. Away will go your profits. I know TV Land will be missed alot by older folks, but what ever. You are selfish @$#es who need to understand what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck. Go rot in a dark hole!!! Posted 12/31/2008 10:56 PMReply

Anonymous says,

As an employee of Time Warner, I can tell you that programming costs are not cheap. The reason cable rates go up, is because the programmers charge more money to keep them. Time Warner Cable is not a not-for-profit company and needs to profit to allow our customers to benefit from the best programming and HD services possible. Check Dish, Comcast, AT&T or any other cable/satellite provider. Time Warner beats all those companies hands down in quality programming. The idea that Time Warner "nickels and dimes" customers to death, simply is not true. The reason NFL Network is not on TWC, is because NFL Network wants to charge an insane amount of money to allow TWC to carry the network, when there is really a very small percentage of people who would want it. It doesn't make economic sense. Viacom wants Time Warner customers to pick up the tab for their lack of profit. Time Warner is going to bat for the customer. Viacom is the bully here, not Time Warner. Now, I have worked for companies that had business practices that I would question. Time Warner is not one of those companies with shady business practices. Our rates are very competitive with the competition and TWC quality is much better! Yes, I am a Time Warner employee, but I'm also a customer. So, I share in the frustration of this whole Viacom mess. Rest assured, Time Warner execs are working diligently to resolve this issue. Posted 12/31/2008 11:03 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I agree with the above. I am a single mother who is living paycheck to paycheck and the only station my son is allowed to watch is Noggin and some shows on Nickelodeon. The only reason I switched to digital cable, TW phone and their high speed internet was to get these channels for my son. Way to go!! Happy 2009 to you too!! Posted 12/31/2008 11:05 PMReply

Anonymous says,

@ Anonymous: Everyone that is leaving Time Warner for their "babysitter" channels. When the current contracts with Viacom are up with your new service provider, what do you think is going to happen.... the same thing. They are going to demand these same prices. Viacom is playing dirty pool, and everyone eventually is going to feel this in their pocketbook. Posted 12/31/2008 11:09 PMReply

Anonymous says,

This is just viacoms latest attempt to get more money. Lets not forget the whole google/youtube ordeal. You know the one where viacom has a suit alleging that you tube has been sucessful purely on copyrighted content from viacom. Posted 12/31/2008 11:09 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Hey Anonymous at 11:09..... Before you start bashing people for allowing their children to watch Noggin and calling Time Warner our "Babysitters", why don't you wake up to reality and realize that maybe us parents are watching it with our children and that yes... our children's tv time is monitored. Go find something else to do with yourself your miserable and VERY judgemental!!! Posted 12/31/2008 11:15 PMReply

Anonymous says,

@ Anonymous: hey anon at 11:15... looks like you need to find another babysitter then... Posted 12/31/2008 11:19 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Viacom is asking for a .25 increase per month per customer. Do any of you defending TWC think for a second that .25 (and more) would not be passed on to us, the consumer to pay? Of course. In the grand scheme, knowing what we pay now, is a quarter that big of a deal? Of course not. There is more to this story than we know. As the "employee" above stated, TWC is a for profit entity. I'll say. We all know that by now for damn sure. Posted 12/31/2008 11:19 PMReply

Anonymous says,

why should twc pay more for the same service. Instead of bashing twc here i invite you to do a little research on viacom. At that point your eyes may be opened. Viacom stock is down, ratings are down and if you look into it they are in financial trouble. they are trying to squeeze every penny out of every one they can for lackluster programing Posted 12/31/2008 11:25 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Time Warner Chief Executive Glenn Britt on Wednesday called Viacom's demand for a 12 percent increase in fees _ an extra $39 million on top of the estimated $300 million it pays Viacom annually _ extortion and outrageous given the recession. Viacom countered that the requested increase amounted to an extra $2.76 annually per subscriber. Posted 12/31/2008 11:28 PMReply

Anonymous says,

wow you are a jerk! The tv isnt our kids babysitters! Our children learn many things from noggin and its pretty obvious that you dont have kids and you should never have them. I really hope TWC makes viacom wake up Posted 12/31/2008 11:30 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Money money money. The economy, according to the news media is dead. We had to wait 40 minutes at the steakhouse and I cannot find a parking place in the mall parking lot. Way too many channels anyway and 95% of them have nothing on but trash. Posted 01/01/2009 12:05 AMReply

Anonymous says,

lol bbq Posted 01/01/2009 12:14 AMReply

Anonymous says,

The paycheck to paycheck argument is hardly valid here. Expanded cable is a luxury item. If you are struggling, switch to basic or drop cable altogether Posted 01/01/2009 12:39 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Sad to think everyone isn't really thinkin' "Happy New Year"...We're all thinking what a mess Viacom has cased yet again. Posted 01/01/2009 12:46 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I always thought MTV stood for Music Television. But for about 15 years or more. Its nothing as its abbreviation states. It airs shows like something you'd see on Lifetime. Posted 01/01/2009 01:01 AMReply

Anonymous says,

It is not time warner that wants customers to pay more. It is viacom who wants us to pay more money for crappy shows. Posted 01/01/2009 01:11 AMReply

Anonymous says,

i remember when MTV actually played music. and had good shows like Beavis and Butt-head. the clean wholesome music scene will fade with time just like all the other scenes. except metal. in the words of a true band "you can not kill the metal." R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell Posted 01/01/2009 01:16 AMReply

Anonymous says,

@ Anonymous: ok, ok viacom came out of the closet with a big dildo here a 39 million dollar dildo, i for one am not ready to take that in the butt..... i say that twc should tell them to bend over and stick that 39m in their own butt and let my child watch his tv shows. by the way noggin is not a "babysitter" it is a way to expand your childs mind through positive reinforcement, my wife sits with our son everyday and watches the shows with him and she is blessed to be able to see him grow because of the things he watches, as for miley frekin cyrus the demographic is not 3 to 9 yrs old it is 35 to 40 yr old single men beating there meat at home, so get your hand out of your pants and turn the channel u old perverted bastards... seriously tho the demographic is def preteen, that def. dont mean i want to watch a new years show with her, i mean honestly in like a year or 2 everyone will say she is a big slut then shes gonna have like 4 kids and shave her head i think we all see where this is going, dont we????? so put back the music back on, get some new tv shows... real ones and i dont mean reality, and viacom needs to stop bitching about having no money, take your caddies and trade them in for some kia's so i can keep my quarter and put it in my sons piggy bank. Posted 01/01/2009 01:26 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I am so mad about them taking Noggin, Nickelodeon and Cmedy Central! They are only targeting our children to get to us because they know it makes us mad. DONT LET THEM WIN! TIME WARNER CABLE ROCKS! Posted 01/01/2009 01:27 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Associated Press
updated 41 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Time Warner Cable Inc. said it has reached a deal with Viacom Inc. on carriage fees, avoiding a blackout of 19 cable channels including MTV and Comedy Central. Posted 01/01/2009 01:27 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Hey Anon at 12:39AM -- it is too a valid argument, jerkoff. The reason these people are living paycheck-to-paycheck is because the want their little "luxury" items...like a phone and a tv (which are now important ways to communicate and receive information; info that is sometimes life-saving). They want the phone, they want the tv, and they still have the other living expenses to pay. What are they going do to shut off the TV and the phone, and stare at the walls during the evening? Maybe they could turn on the radio and pretend it's 1945! I'll bet you are one of those people that have never done without anything, but quick to tell everyone they can do without when I'll bet you can't. What a prick. Oh, and TWC is right. Viacom owners are just a bunch of greedy ja%$@*ses. Posted 01/01/2009 01:34 AMReply

Anonymous says,

@ Anonymous: AAAAAAAAAAAAMEN!!!! Posted 01/01/2009 01:38 AMReply

Anonymous says,

YAY they MADE AN AGREEMENT! Posted 01/01/2009 01:49 AMReply

Anonymous says,

The reason this issue has arrised is because the controlling shareholder in Viacom has ran up far too much personal debt. He is bullying the company to pillage more money from Time Warner and was holding the customers hostage instead of working with Time Warner like an adult. I can well afford the cable bill and what little they will probably increase it, however if Time Warner is such a pansy and Viacom thinks what they are doing is a good business practice, I will drop both of them like a rock. The only thing I ever watch from Viacom is Colbert Report, and that's usually reruns late late late at night. Posted 01/01/2009 02:13 AMReply

Anonymous says,

FIRST OFF I WANT TO SAY THAT I CALLED TWC LAST NIGHT TO ASK THEM ABOUT THIS AND THEY STRAIGHT OUT LIED TO ME!! AND SAID, (IT ISN'T TRUE,, OUR COMPETITION SOME HOW THINKS THAT IT'S FUNNY TO RUN AN ADD ACROSS THE SCREEN AND LIE TO OUR CUSTOMERS) END QUOATE,, I thought that is sounded a litte off,because whoever did that could be sued if they had done such a thing ,but i shrugged it off and said ok.(BY THE WAY I WAS VEY POLITE THE WHOLE TIME THROUGH,FROM START TO FINISH I KNEW IT WASN'T TWC FAULT AND I EVEN TOLD HER THAT BEFORE ANYTHING SO I JUST WONDER WHY SHE WOULD LIE,SHE DID SAY THAT SHE WAS OFF IN 3 MINUTES SO MAYBE IT WAS TO GET ME OFF THE PHONE... ANYWAY HERE IS WHAT I THINK THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS....

I think it's like this. Neithor company give's a damn about us, Yes its true, we will get a 12 percent increase on our bill,,But we're not the only ones...TIME WARNER CABLE will also receive a price hike for airing the same channels to their customers as they did before this whole mess. Meaning that they will gain a little from us and lose a little more to Viacom.. Maybe im wrong but that sure seems like the case to me! ANYWAY BOTH twc and viacom will suffer from this and im 100% sure that they will find a middle ground quickly, assuming that they haven't
already... Happy new year everyone!!

The years are just rolling by!!!
Tim in ohio Posted 01/01/2009 04:38 AMReply

Anonymous says,

what up milley Posted 01/04/2009 7:30 PMReply

Anonymous says,

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Anonymous says,

why does everyone feel so comfortable using the word retard or retarded? it's so demeaning and hurtful to people with special needs. it's not about being pc. It's about having a little decency for a group of people who are just doing the best they can. slurs hurt any way you look at it. Posted 01/04/2009 10:10 PMReply