The dispute between Disney and Cablevision over New York City’s ABC affiliate — WABC — sparked a massive ad war and was finally resolved…15 minutes into ABC’s telecast of the Oscars:
From the New York Times:
“The first thing that Cablevision customers in the New York area — who had been blocked from seeing anything on WABC television all day — were able to see was the introduction of Penelope Cruz giving out the first award of the evening for Best Supporting Actor.
Cablevision customers had been prevented from seeing both the Barbara Walters special that preceded the show and the red carpet introduction.”
Actually, WTNH has full coverage on Cablevision, so their Connecticut viewers were covered and were able to see Neil Patrick Harris and the opening “stereolog.”.