City negotiating to prevent loss of all of Viacom’s cable TV programming
STAFF REPORT
Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 1:30 p.m. –– Bardstown Cable TV customers may find themselves without a number of their favorite channels if the City of 
Bardstown and Viacom are unable to come to terms on a new contract.
Viacom’s channels in the expanded basic cable TV package include MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, SPIKE, VH1, CMT, BET, and TV Land; the Digital Basic channels lost include TeenNick, Nick JR, Nick Toons, MTV2, VH1 Classic Rock, and MTV Hits. In the Digital Extended Basic tier, the channels that may be lost include Centric, CMT Pure Country and VH1 Soul.
Negotiations are ongoing with Viacom to reach an agreement. According to a social media post, if the city cable TV cannot reach an agreement, all of Viacom’s channels will be dropped.
Viacom has granted short-term extensions that have allowed the cable TV system to continue to carry the programming. Viacom requires cable systems to carry their complete programming packages, making it an all-or-nothing deal.
The city’s cable TV system does not markup the cost of wholesale cable programming in the expanded basic and digital tiers.
If you have concerns or opinions, you can contact the city’s cable TV department via program@bardstowncable.net.
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