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Time Warner, ABC in pact
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May 18, 2000: 12:09 p.m. ET
Time Warner Chairman Levin describes cable deal as a "handshake"
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin announced on Thursday that the company's cable unit has reached an agreement with Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television network over retransmission rights.
Levin made the comments at a Time Warner (TWX: Research, Estimates) shareholder meeting this morning in New York. He described the deal as a "handshake agreement" between Time Warner's president and chief operating officer, Richard Parsons, and Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) president, Robert Iger.
 A Disney spokeswoman confirmed that an agreement has been reached, but noted that no details were immediately available. "We expect to have a signed agreement soon," she said.
The pact comes after months of bitter, drawn-out talks between the two entertainment leaders, and only two weeks after Time Warner blocked ABC's signal on its systems. For about 39 hours, more than three million Time Warner Cable customers across the nation could not see ABC programs. Time Warner is the parent company of CNNfn.
During the heated moments of the dispute, the two companies wrangled over issues such as Disney's wishes to add channels to Time Warner's systems, and the cost of the deal.
A pact with ABC would wrap up Time Warner's retransmission talks with all of the major networks. On Wednesday, Time Warner inked a deal with NBC, an agreement with Viacom's (VIA: Research, Estimates) CBS, while a Fox Entertainment Group's (FOX: Research, Estimates) Fox network deal had been signed previously. 
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