Oscar broadcast party crash: ABC switched off for Cablevision’s 3.1M customers in NY amid feud

Oscar party crash: No deal in Cablevision-ABC feud

NEW YORK — Cablevision’s 3.1 million customers in New York will likely be unable to watch the Academy Awards show after ABC’s parent company switched off access in a dispute over payments.

Cablevision and The Walt Disney Co. failed to settle their disagreements to end their standoff.

As promised, Disney cut access at midnight Sunday. However, the signal can still be pulled from the air for free with an antenna and a new TV or digital converter box.

Disney had argued that Cablevision charges customers $18 per month for basic broadcast signals but does not pass on any payment for ABC to Disney.

The cable operator says Disney is seeking an additional $40 million a year in new fees, even though the company pays more than $200 million a year to Disney.