Time Warner to Drop IFC and WE TV Channels

By Paul Thomson :: 2:27 AM

Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable television service in the country, may soon drop two channels from its lineup – IFC and WE tv – under a carriage deal with the channels’ parent company, AMC Networks, which ends on January 1, 2013.

If a deal is not reached on a contract renewal, shows such as “Portlandia,”  “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” “Kendra on Top,” “Braxton Family Values,” and “Bridezillas” could be off of Time Warner subscribers’ television sets.

A spokesperson for the cable company has told a Hollywood publication that negotiations were in progress, and a deal could still be brokered. However, earlier this month, Time Warner Cable’s CEO, Glenn Britt, had threatened to drop networks that had lower ratings when their current contracts came up for renewal. “This stuff is just starting to cost too much,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

Earlier this month, Time Warner announced that it would drop Ovation, an arts and music channel, after Dec. 31. According to Time Warner’s statistics, less than 1 percent of their customers watched the channel.

AMC Network recently struck new carriage deals with Verizon’s FiOS TV service, AT&T’s U-Verse and satellite TV provider Dish Network. The Dish Network deal only came after a lengthy legal battle, and Dish will only carry those channels for part of the year under that agreement.

What are your options for watching TV without being tethered to a cable company or satellite provider? Check out these streaming media devices and services:

* Roku Streaming Players
* Apple TV
* WD TV Media Player
* Sony SMP-N200 Streaming Player