Disney Pulls NY TV Signal on Eve of Oscar's

Potentially leaving millions of New York City-area homes unable to watch Sunday's Oscar telecast, Walt Disney Co. pulled its WABC-TV signal off Cablevision Systems Corp. at midnight Saturday as part of a fight over carriage fees.

The action -- coming on the eve of one of television's biggest events and affecting more than 3 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- is the most dramatic demonstration yet of the escalating stakes between media giants as they wrestle with determining the value of content.

Disney could still restore the signal of its ABC station before the Academy Awards begin at 8 p.m. EST.

The two companies are fighting over fees Disney wants Cablevision to pay for the right to retransmit WABC on local cable systems.

Though feuds between programmers and distributors are commonplace, it is rare for a signal to be yanked, let alone hours before a ratings monster like the Oscars.

Late last year, News Corp.'s Fox and Time Warner Cable engaged in a bitter fight for several weeks, but ultimately struck a deal without Fox's signal being pulled.

Frustrated by a lack of progress in negotiations over retransmission, Disney last week said it was prepared to pull WABC from Cablevision's systems at midnight Saturday. With the Oscars airing Sunday night, Disney and ABC were clearly hoping to pressure Cablevision into a deal. But Cablevision, a family-owned company founded by Charles Dolan and now run day-to-day by his son James, has shown little indication of caving in to the pressure.

Disney's decision to yank its local ABC station off Cablevision's cable systems is a risky move for Disney chief Robert Iger, who risks both angering viewers and fallout from advertisers unhappy about how the move will affect ratings for the Academy Awards show.