Viacom's argument is that their channels "provide 20 percent of their audience" yet they only "receive about 2.5 percent of the fees Time Warner pays," so they're asking for what amounts to a rate increase of 23 cents per subscriber. Time Warner says that "the root of this is that the advertising market has gone soft and Viacom is desperate" and it's no time to be making people pay more for TV.

Viacom's PR campaign, so far, is decidedly brilliant: They've taken out full page ads in the Times and other papers today with characters like Dora the Explorer crying because children can't watch her starting tomorrow. Time Warner's response is pretty savvy too. Time Warner spokesman Alexander Dudley said that they'll "be telling our customers exactly where they can go to see these programs online...We’ll also be telling them how they can hook up their PCs to a television set.”

That's right—the cable company will be telling people to use Hulu. That's a first. True, they're still doing it over Time Warner's pipes, but it's pretty shocking coming from a cable company/ISP, who, like every other TV/ISP service provider, has traditionally pushed people in various ways to use the internet less and their TV services more. In fact, Time Warner has squawked before that they hate the amount of content—like The Hills and The Daily Show, the very programs at issue here—that broadcasters are putting online for free. Now they're sending people to them.

This is also the same Time Warner that's capping the amount of data people can use a month in certain markets, which, survey says, is a network management practice likely to spread—in large part due to the amount of strain on broadband networks coming from streaming video now.

And this Time Warner's going to tell people to stream more video? Maybe they're just going to bump your broadband bill instead, or this is a bluff. So, don't worry guys, you'll totally be able to watch Comedy Central while you're hungover tomorrow. (Probably.) [NY Times via NewTeeVee]

But what I'm trying to say here is that even though all of our favorite Nick shows aren't on iTunes yet, quite a few of them are—episodes that were never available before on DVD. Here's the full list, with more on the way, hopefully:

•Aaahhh Real Monsters–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Aaahhh Real Monsters focuses on three barely competent, adolescent monsters trying their best to learn the ropes of monsterhood.

•The Amanda Show–Best of, Vol. 1 (Five Episodes): Starring Amanda Bynes, this show features comedy sketches as well as short animated segments, TV commercial parodies and short films.

•Angry Beavers–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Daggett and Norbert are beaver brothers adapting to life on their own and perpetually torn between their sibling rivalry and undying love for each other.

•As Told by Ginger–Season 1 (13 Episodes): As Told by Ginger focuses on 12-year-old Ginger Foutley’s experiences in Junior High School as she tiptoes between two worlds: the cool and the uncool.

•Clarissa Explains It All–Best of (Seven Episodes): This series examines life as seen through Clarissa Darling’s (Melissa Joan Hart) eyes. Clarissa is an imaginative and very contemporary teenager who makes no bones about detailing her likes, dislikes and fantasies.

•Doug–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Doug deals with the life and imagination of 11-year-old Doug Funnie, his dog Porkchop, and good friends Skeeter Valentine and Patti Mayonnaise, and Doug's reaction to various situations in his life.

•Hey Arnold–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Hey Arnold stars Arnold as a city kid with problems like any other 4th grader, except Arnold’s got a unique way of solving them.

•Hey Dude–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Hey Dude follows the lives of the Bar None Dude Ranch owner, his son, and five teenage employees and the predicaments the teens get themselves into while on the ranch.

•Rocket Power–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Rocket Power is the story of four friends- Otto Rocket, and his sister Reggie, and their pals Twister and Sam-who are addicted to action and extreme sports.

•Rocko's Modern Life–Best of, Vol. 1 (Six Episodes): The animated series chronicles the hilarious antics of Rocko, a wallaby on his own in the United States for the first time, and his beloved brain-dead dog, Sparky.

•Rugrats–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Rugrats stars Tommy, the one-year-old hero; his best friend Chuckie; his baby brother Dil; the twins from next door, Phil and Lil; and Tommy’s bratty cousin Angelica. As the pals wobble through life, we see the world from a baby’s point-of-view.

•Wild Thornberrys–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Wild Thornberrys follows the adventures of girl hero—Eliza Thornberry, a courageous 12-year-old who can talk to animals-and her quirky family who travel the world in search of exotic, endangered animals to star in their nature documentaries.