[[Time Warner is about to lose a lot of customers.]]
You bet they are- and Fox is also cutting off their noses to spite their faces as well
The cable companies are basically claiming that the over the air content (OTA) is free so they shouldn't have to pay for it. Their spin is they are getting the signal to more customers.
One issue that hasn't been mentioned is the fact that the cable companies are taking the OTA content produced by Fox and others and using technology to inject their own local commercials. At least that is happening here in the new york area.
The end result is that the content producers cannot count the cable audience when charging fees to the clients for the commercials. Therefore, the folks responsible for the content should either be compensated for their products or the local commercials shouldn't be injected.
The cables companies advertise their large “lineup” to attract customers, then use that station's signal to make money on the locally injected commercials.
Btw, TW in NY has already notified its customers that they are raising rates in January, even prior to this issue becoming public.
I still have an antenna on my roof and if the two OTA channels are taken off the cable, I can still get them. I also have the option of switching to Verizon’s FIOS package which will probably happen if TW goes ahead with their plan to remove the channels.