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The Morning Fix: No peace in sight for Fox and Time Warner Cable! Weinstein Co. sticking with ‘Nine.’ Disney Channel’s reinvention of the sitcom. Tiger Woods and AT&T disconnected.

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After the coffee. Before finishing off those resolutions from 2009.

Showdown! The last great business fight of 2009 is on the verge of becoming the first big battle of 2010. With only hours to go (can you feel the tension?), News Corp.’s Fox still does not have a new distribution agreement with Time Warner Cable for its Fox TV stations, FX and several other cable networks. The sticking point is still Fox’s $1 asking price for its TV stations. Time Warner Cable says it is willing to extend the current deal or enter arbitration and has Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on its side. Fox is hanging tough. The Los Angeles Times has the latest on the squabble. If that’s not enough for you, here’s some more from the Wall Street Journal and Broadcasting & Cable.

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Turnaround? As the year winds down, Variety looks at all the big movie projects that got the hook in 2009. Some, such as Disney’s ‘Captain Nemo’ remake and a sequel to ‘Wild Hogs,’ were victims of regime changes at the studio. Others, such as Paramount’s remake of ‘Footloose,’ went away over creative or financial differences. So far, I’m not feeling like I’m going to be missing much here.

‘Nine’ is not a 10! Despite a very disappointing opening weekend, the Weinstein Co. said it has no plans to scale back on the distribution of its musical ‘Nine,’ according to Reuters. While the movie got some good reviews, it got crushed competing against ‘Avatar,’ ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘It’s Complicated.’ Weinstein Co. is hoping ‘Nine,’ along with ‘The Road,’ will be given lots of Oscar love.

Add Spider-Man to the payroll. Marvel Entertainment shareholders approved Walt Disney Co.’s $4.3- billion purchase of the company, and the deal is expected to close later today, per the Associated Press.

Disconnected. Add AT&T to the list of advertisers cutting the line to golfer Tiger Woods. Early today, the telecommunications giant said it is ending its agreement with him and ‘wishes him well in the future,’ according to the New York Times. Woods, whose seen his stock fall as a pitchman since a Thanksgiving car crash led to an unraveling of his rather complex personal life, has lost other major sponsors, including consulting firm Accenture. Resolutions for TV. The Wrap’s Joe Adalian has suggestions for TV’s titans (I’m sure that’s just what they were asking for). He wants Fox’s new TV topper Peter Rice to get a little more visible and CBS chief Leslie Moonves to stop micromanaging the network’s entertainment operations and start grooming a strong No. 2. And lastly, Simon Cowell needs to focus on ‘American Idol’ and stop obsessing over ‘X-Factor.’

Farewell. The Hollywood Reporter looks back at the notable deaths of 2009.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: A look at the Disney Channel’s efforts to reinvent the sitcom by keeping it a little clean with ‘Good Luck Charlie.’ Warner Bros. ‘The Blind Side’ was a surprise hit for the studio and star Sandra Bullock. Is there another big surprise for her come Oscars time?

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-- Joe Flint

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The Morning Fix will take New Year’s Day off (except, of course, for updates on Fox vs. Time Warner Cable) and will return Monday. Have a safe holiday.


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