ABC Returns to Cablevision Airwaves

Good news for Cablevision subscribers: According to the NY Times, the cable provider has reached a deal with ABC, ending a heated dispute that temporarily took WABC off the airwaves.

"We are happy to report that WABC Channel 7 has returned to Cablevision's 3 million New York area homes. We are very grateful to our customers for their support and pleased to welcome ABC back," said Cablevision executive vice president Charles Schueler in a statement, according to the NY Times.Good news for Cablevision subscribers: According to the NY Times, the cable provider has reached a deal with ABC, ending a heated dispute that temporarily took WABC off the airwaves.

"We are happy to report that WABC Channel 7 has returned to Cablevision's 3 million New York area homes. We are very grateful to our customers for their support and pleased to welcome ABC back," said Cablevision executive vice president Charles Schueler in a statement, according to the NY Times.

After a tense standoff between Disney-owned ABC and local cable provider Cablevision over re-transmission fees, the alphabet network shut down its signal to 3.1 million subscribers at 12:01AM Sunday when the two companies failed to reach an agreement by their self-imposed deadline.

As we reported on Tuesday and Thursday, the network wanted $40 million more a year from the provider, which already purports to pay $200 million to broadcast the channel.

Harsh words were exchanged via public statements from both companies this week, with Cablevision's head honcho James Dolan calling for Disney president and CEO Bob Iger to "Stop holding his own viewers hostage and instead work with us to reach a fair agreement," and WABC-TV president and general manager Rebecca Campbell contending that "We can no longer sit back and allow Cablevision to use our shows for free while they continue to charge their customers for them."

Full details on the agreement have yet to be announced.