Time Warner Cable, Viacom Cut Deal

By Ryan Nakashima

LOS ANGELES -- Millions of Time Warner Cable(TWC Quote) customers won't lose their access to MTV and 18 other channels after the cable giant reached an agreement early Thursday with media conglomerate Viacom Inc.(VIA Quote)

The two sides, citing disagreement over fee hikes, had threatened a damaging blackout at a minute past midnight Thursday that would have cut off shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants and The Colbert Report to about 15.7 million subscribers.

"We are pleased that our customers will continue to be able to watch the programming they enjoy on MTV Networks," said Glenn Britt, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable. "We are sorry they had to endure a day of public disagreement as we worked through this negotiation." ...