Events
On December 4, 2008, Viacom announced layoffs of 850 personnel, or 7% of their workforce.[1] At the end of the year, Time Warner Cable (along with partner Bright House Networks) and Viacom's MTV Networks could not come to terms for the renewal of any Viacom channel beyond the end of year.[2][3] Time Warner Cable's operations include New York City and Los Angeles, with Bright House including the Tampa Bay and Orlando markets, both top-20 markets. This blackout was narrowly avoided when a zero-hour deal was reached shortly after midnight on January 1, 2009.[4]
Film releases
- January 18 - Cloverfield
- January 25 - How She Move
- February 1 - Strange Wilderness
- February 14 - The Spiderwick Chronicles
- March 21 - Drillbit Taylor
- March 28 - Stop-Loss
- April 4 - The Ruins
- April 25 - Then She Found Me
- May 2 - Iron Man
- May 22 - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- May 27 - Jackass Presents: Mat Hoffman's Tribute to Evel Knievel
- May 30 - The Foot Fist Way
- June 6 - Kung Fu Panda
- June 20 - The Love Guru
- July 25 - Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
- August 13 - Tropic Thunder
- September 19 - Ghost Town
- September 26 - Eagle Eye
- October 17 - Sex Drive
- November 7 - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
- November 23 - A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
- December 25 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- December 26 - Revolutionary Road
Shows
Home video releases
- February 19 - Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks: Treasure Hunt on Raloo Farm
Characters debuts
People
References
- ↑ "The Dreaded Viacom Layoffs: 850 People". gawker.
- ↑ Fixmer, Andy. "Viacom May Pull Channels Off Time Warner Cable in Contract Spat", Bloomberg, 2008-12-31.
- ↑ "Time Warner may cut 'Colbert,' 'Spongebob'". MSNBC.
- ↑ "Blackout averted as Viacom-Time Warner Cable dispute is resolved", Los Angeles Daily News, December 31, 2008.