MTV “Alerts” TWC Customers on its Site

Maybe I’ve buried my head in the ground regarding media other than the Internet, but I’m just learning of the dispute between Time Warner Cable and Viacom (MTV Networks) that may prevent me from seeing many of the shows beloved by my family after the New Year. The Daily Show on Comedy Central? Gone! Dora, Diego and Kai-Lan on Nickelodeon? Gone! Even our old stand-by on-demand channels will be affected, according to a statement on the Time Warner Web site.

But I’m not actually writing about the dispute. What has gotten my attention is the impressive array of online marketing tools that the companies are using to muster customers to their sides. Besides the statement I linked to above, Time Warner has even launched a Web site, TWCFacts.com, that begs, “MTV please don’t do it!” Viacom is asking “you” to pay “millions” more, the site says, adding, “Those demands would be unreasonable any time, but given the current economic conditions, they are outrageous now.” Interestingly, one of their arguments against paying more is that much of MTV’s programming is already available online for free.

Meanwhile, visitors to MTV.com are greeted by a pop-up that says “Alert! Alert! Alert!” exhorting readers to call Time Warner’s 800 number to demand they come to an agreement with MTV Networks. (Screenshot above.) Impressive.

I don’t see any search ads, and who knows whether Time Warner cares on Twitter (as @Comcastcares). But even these baby steps show some awareness of the relevance of the Internet audience — not to mention the huge impact digital media (and time shifting) are having on media monetization these days. I imagine this impasse won’t last long. I wonder who’ll be most successful in getting customers to rally to their side, giving them a possible leg-up in the negotiations. Viacom, as the home of those beloved brands, has a leg up over the most-hated cable behemoth of Time Warner. Sadly, as my husband and I discussed this evening, we have few options other than Time Warner. Thankfully, we’ve got a nice backlog of Dora and Diego taped on the TiVo and TiVo to Go.

UPDATE: They reached an agreement. And TWC is on Twitter. Over on the ClickZ Blog (thx for the link!) they comment:

Hi — I’m the digital communications director for Time Warner Cable. It may interest you to know that we’re on Twitter — follow me at jeffTWC and my co-workers at alexTWC and MsmarTWC