Time Warner, Viacom reach deal

January 2, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s no need to cry, Dora.

The programmer Viacom and Time Warner Cable agreed on compensation that preserved access for the cable system operator’s 15.7 million subscribers to Dora’s Nickelodeon network, MTV and 17 other channels.

The two sides, citing disagreement over fee increases, had threatened a damaging blackout at a minute past midnight Thursday that would have cut off shows such as “Dora the Explorer,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “The Colbert Report” for Time Warner Cable customers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Details must still be finalized over the next few days, the companies said.

“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 Inc. “We are sorry they had to endure a day of public disagreement as we worked through this negotiation.”