Time Warner vs. Viacom: Who's the Winner?

We've all been stuck in similar situations, faced with what we think are unreasonable demands. We all understand the temptation to prove we're in the right. But by drawing a line in the sand right as an end-of-2008 deadline loomed, Time Warner gave Viacom the chance to paint them as the bad guy -- in public.

Viacom released a statement that came across as calm and reasonable, mixing bafflement at Time Warner's stance with a flurry of statistics. The increase, they said, would amount to less than a penny per day per customer for all 19 of MTV Networks' channels.

"Americans spend more than 20% of their TV viewing time watching our networks," they insisted, "yet our fees amount to less than 2.5% of what Time Warner generates from their average customer. Nevertheless, Time Warner Cable has dismissed our efforts at a fair compromise and has effectively chosen to deny its customers some of the most popular TV shows on the air."

That last dig must have especially gotten to Time Warner Cable President and CEO Glenn Britt, because he soon issued a statement that hit right back.

The reference to pennies, he said, "is misleading and insulting to our customers, from whom Viacom is trying to extort another $39 million annually -- on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars our customers already pay to Viacom each year." He then went on to call Viacom's actions "unreasonable" and "outrageous." Britt also claimed Time Warner had negotiated in good faith and made several concessions to reach a deal.