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Time Warner Cable offers programming for over 14 million customers every month. They offer programming packages for families that want to come home and relax after a long, hard day, and other services such as high-speed online service and digital phone services that help busy families stay in touch with loved ones and friends all over the United States. These services are offered in a bundle that allows customers the services they need without high monthly rates that would be unaffordable for many households.

Time Warner Cable is a trusted name, having done business for almost 50 years, offering transparency and communication with their customers, where other providers have not. So, when Time Warner Cable starting getting pressured to pay more for their programming to broadcast companies like Fox, resulting inevitably in customers having to pay more, they took the problem back to their customers with the same transparency they are known for. To get the word to their customers on what was transpiring behind closed doors, Time Warner Cable launched a public education campaign that was aimed at giving the consumer a general overview of the process, while revealing specific details about the current contract negotiations between the cable TV provider and Fox.

The campaign to educate the public and, more specifically, Time Warner Cable customers came about as a consequence of failed negotiations between Time Warner Cable and Fox, which is owned by News Corp. Negotiations stalled after Time Warner Cable refused to pay price increases that would have had Time Warner Cable customers paying at least 300% more than what they currently pay for cable TV programming.

The campaign was called Roll Over or Get Tough. It entailed detailed explanations of the contract and negotiation process in general, and more specifically, the situation with News Corp over current negotiations. Time Warner Cable put out information concerning their situations and advertised the site online and in print to get the word to current Time Warner Cable customers. Subscribers were invited to log on at www.rolloverorgettough.com to get a thorough explanation and vote on whether or not Time Warner Cable should pay the new, higher rates, ultimately costing customers valuable money and resources that would be better used elsewhere, or to hold out and not pay them, even if it cost subscribers their favorite programming.

Since the campaign started, more than 600,000 viewers have logged on, with 400,000 customers saying Time Warner Cable should not “roll over” and pay the higher rates News Corp is trying to charge, even if it is their favorite programming.

A decision is expected to be reached no later than December 31, 2009 for current contractual pricing. If not, News Corp will lose a valuable customer and Time Warner Cable subscribers will lose familiar favorites.

With a vast number of Americans still out of work, or fighting their way back from a period of unemployment, an extra monthly expense incurred for any reason is not welcome. Time Warner Cable offer their customers an educated choice on where they want their money to go.