Wow! Not only did Bright House Network customers avoid losing their Viacom-run channels, but finally … after years and years of waiting … the cable company added Fox Sports Florida.

As reported earlier this week, Viacom and Bright House-Time Warner were deadlocked over a proposed rate increase Viacom wanted for its popular channels. Viacom was ready to yank the channels off Bright House’s lineup at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, but a tentative last-minute deal was reached.

In a news release, Kevin Hyman, Executive Vice President, Cable Operations of Bright House Networks said, “We are pleased that our customers will continue to be able to watch the programming they enjoy on MTV Networks. We are sorry they had to endure a day of public disagreement as we worked through this negotiation.”

But what about Fox Sports Florida? For years, Bright House has refused to add the cable sports channel. But that changed with the arrival of 2009. Bright House said Fox Sports Florida will be available on channel 50.

“This is a banner day for sports fans in Central Florida,” said Cathy Weeden, Senior VP/GM of Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports. “Bright House customers now have the opportunity to see Fox Sports Florida’s award-winning coverage of their hometown teams, including all 77 Orlando Magic games offered on Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports each season.”

“We have worked hard to reach an agreement that works best for all of our customers, which has always been our goal,” J. Christian Fenger, President of Bright House Networks Central Florida Division, said in a news release. “Fox Sports Florida is a strong addition to our lineup and will complement our already significant array of sports programming. We are very happy to make this happen.”

Left unsaid … between keeping the Viacom channels (at a higher rate) and the addition of Fox Sports Florida, expect to see your cable bill rise very soon.

» Read more: Bright House keeps Viacom channels, adds Fox Sports

I suspect this isn’t how Bright House Networks subscribers planned to start 2009 — with a bunch of popular channels missing from their cable lineup.

But that’s what may happen because of a dispute with Viacom over extra money the media company wants for its channels. According to The Associated Press, Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel — which Viacom says would total about an extra 23 cents a month per subscriber. Viacom points out that Americans spend a fifth of their TV time watching Viacom channels but its fees make up less than 2.5 percent of a typical cable bill.

The channels Viacom plans to pull off Bright House — and Time Warner systems nationwide – are: Comedy Central, CMT: Pure Country, Logo, Palladia, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Tr3s, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick 2, Nicktoons, Spike, The N, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, and VH1 Soul.

That means no Daily Show, no Cobert Report and no Sponge Bob (well, that last one is actually good news.) It’s all set to go down at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a deal is not reached before then.

In a posting on its Web site, Bright House says, “MTV Networks wants our customers to pay millions more. They are currently demanding price increases that are nearly triple the rate of increase under our current agreement. These increases would be excessive even in a strong economy, but given the current conditions, it’s simply not fair to our customers.”

If or when the channels go away, what should you do? Bright House offers this solution: “While we work towards reaching an agreement, many popular TV programs from MTV Networks are also available at www.hulu.com or by going to the channel’s own website.”

Ahhh, so stop watching TV and spend more time on the Internet. I can support that.

If you have questions or concerns, you can contact Bright House at this link.

» Read more: Viacom ready to yank channels off Bright House