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WABC-7 comes back on Cablevision, return to Oscar watching at DEFCON 4
Just that fast, the situation has been defused, as ABC-7 has suddenly reappeared on the screens of Cablevision viewers. It's been off for less than a day but despite missing a great Magic/Lakers matchup earlier in the day it's on just in time to see if Avatar actually takes the Best Picture trophy home for the 3D camp. The statement from WABC-TV president Rebecca Campbell: "We've made significant progress, and have reached an agreement in principle that recognizes the fair value of ABC7, with deal points that we expect to finalize with Cablevision. Given this movement, we're pleased to announce that ABC7 will return to Cablevision households while we work to complete our negotiations." No word on what those "deal points" are, but as long as our friend @Gartenberg gets to watch his Castle it's probably all for the best.
WABC-7 pulled from Cablevision on the eve of the Oscars or two days before Lost
Depending on your personal calendar, the removal of WABC-7's signal from Cablevision in New York is potentially tragic for different reasons but all in all it's a very familiar scene. Fresh off its standoff with Scripps over Food Network and HGTV, Cablevision is rumbling with Disney over the same issue that nearly caused Time Warner customers to miss Fox-broadcasted bowl games around New Years Day (and yes, Senator John Kerry is involved, again) -- will the cable company pay to carry what's available free OTA? With both sides firmly dug in slinging accusations back and forth via screen crawls and press releases (propaganda from both sides embedded after the break) the most interesting wrinkle is Cablevision's suggestion that users just go online and check out primetime programming via ABC.com or Hulu (or grab an antenna for some digital TV love, whatever works.) These things can turn at a moments notice so we'll wait see if the fighting is resolved in time for an afternoon NBA Finals flashback as the Lakers take on the Magic, or for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at 8:30 p.m. No matter what happens, if things aren't back to normal by Tuesday we'd evacuate the city, a Lostie without their fix is a dangerous thing.
