Time Warner Cable Re-Classifies The O’Reilly Factor as “Infomercial”

 LITTLETON, CO (Disassociated Press) – October 11, 2006 – Time Warner Cable, the cable television service provider to millions of American households, announced today that it would be switching the designation of “Program Type” listed on its on-screen program guide for Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor from its current designation as a “Public Affairs” program to an “Infomercial.”

         “Bill spends so much time now hawking and touting his new book, Culture Warrior, that the show has basically become one big infomercial for the book.  We felt that, in light of this, it would be misleading not to do the re-designation,” explained Seth Gumbridge, Programming Designation Spokesperson for Time Warner Cable.

         Some industry insiders see this as merely the latest volley in the not so private bickering that goes back and forth between the 24 hour cable news competitors Fox News Channel and Cable News Network (CNN), whose parent company, Time Warner, Inc., is also the parent company to Time Warner Cable.  O’Reilly frequently cites Fox News’s success vis a vis CNN in television ratings and viewer share, while, recently, Time Warner Inc. CEO, Bill Parsons, referred to the Fox Network as “the ‘F’ network;” and just within the last week, CNN founder, Ted Turner, when asked his opinion about the future of the Fox Network, responded with the "Bronx Cheer."

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