Charter Spectrum Customers May See Blackout of NBCU-Owned Channels Jan. 1

Millions of customers could lose access to NBCUniversal-owned channel on New Year's Day because of a carriage negotiation dispute between NBCU and Charter Communications.

Negotiations between Charter, which completed a merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks earlier this year to operate under the brand name Spectrum, and NBCU have stalled completely, sources tell Variety.

The current deal is set to expire Jan. 1. Among the channels that Charter Spectrum customers could lose access to are Bravo, E!, Syfy, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, and Oxygen. Charter Spectrum is the third largest distributor of NBCU-owned channels. Those who live cities like New York and Los Angeles could also lose local NBC-owned stations.

NBCU has launched an ad campaign to inform customers that they could lose access to various channels and have even set up a website for informational purposes.

On the site, NBCU claims negotiations are at an impasse because Spectrum is asking NBCUniversal for terms that are inconsistent with the terms that other distributors have agreed to.

Spectrum addressed the matter in a tweet on Friday, saying they are working on getting a fair deal.

Such disputes are not uncommon. USA Today notes that at least three other such negotiations are currently underway between providers and carriers but the Charter-NBCU dispute is the largest.

"Deals are made with multi-year terms and they end at year's end," Phil Swann, publisher and president of TV Predictions, told the paper. "More times than not, they get settled before blackout. But you never know, which causes viewer anxiety."

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