Blackout looms in Time Warner, Viacom standoff

By Yinka Adegoke and Paul Thomasch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom Inc and Time Warner Cable were at a standoff on Wednesday, but hoped that top executives would step in to resolve a dispute that threatens to prevent more than 13 million U.S. subscribers from seeing shows like "Dora the Explorer" and Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show".

No face-to-face meetings between executives have occurred for several weeks, sources on both sides said.

At issue is an extra $35 million to $40 million that Viacom wants Time Warner to pay for carrying its cable channels, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

Time Warner has refused, saying the economic climate makes it impossible to pass along such costs to its customers. Viacom has denied Time Warner's request for an extension of the current terms.

Instead, Viacom threatened to pull its TV networks from Time Warner at midnight on January 1 unless a deal was reached. Viacom also wants Time Warner Cable's Chief Executive Glenn Britt to become more active in the talks, sources said.

Although disagreements between cable carriers and programmers are common, this one is particularly notable given it involves two major companies, threatens top shows, and has prompted a high-profile advertising campaign.

Time Warner is a major outlet for programmers with its 13.3 million video subscribers and presence in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Cleveland.

But Viacom has an equally strong hand. It controls 19 cable TV networks that offer "SpongeBob SquarePants," "The Hills", "Dora the Explorer" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" among others.