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Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 2:02 a.m.

Updated: 5:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008 | Posted: 5:39 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008

Nickelodean, MTV Channels on Time Warner Will Go Black

EL PASO, Texas —

On Wednesday morning, Time Warner customers noticed an alert at the bottom of their televisions notifying them several channels they pay for will go dark. It's a concern to customers and a concern for the cable company as well.

Rachel Mann and her three kids enjoy watching several programs on Time Warner Cable. But it seems like there's a chance they may not be able to see some of their favorite shows.

"I was shocked. I pay so much money for those cable services I want to have the best of the best," said Mann.

Time Warner Cable customers were notified about possible changes on Time Warner when they watched some of their favorite shows. Shows like "SpongeBob" and "The Daily Show" could be cut off if Time Warner doesn't resolve negotiations with media giant Viacom.

"In light of their demands, we thought that that was insulting to our customers and outrages as well as unfair. They were asking as much as a 36 percent increase which is about $39 million annually," said Time Warner Director of Communications Vicki Triplett.

Triplett said programming is the most expensive cost. Time Warner works as a wholesaler, it takes programming networks, packages them and passes it on to the customer to what they believe is a fair and reasonable price. Triplett said it's a cost the company is not willing to pass on to its customers.

"We're just not going to pay outrages fees especially to a company whose ratings are declining and advertising revenue is declining and they're looking to make up that revenue with us," said Triplett.

Triplett doesn't know when an agreement will be reached but said Time Warner will continue negotiations until something is resolved. But for customers like Rachel, she says she may have to look somewhere else.

"If I'm not going to have all the channels my kids watch, I'm going to have to find another alternative. Go to satellite or do something else," said Mann.

Triplett said if Viacom does pull its programming, Time Warner will look at credit policies for their customers.

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