ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri-based cable TV provider that serves 16 states plans to drop nearly two dozen channels owned by Viacom Inc. in a dispute over a proposed fee increase.

Suddenlink Communications says it will pull Comedy Central, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon and other channels from its lineup on Wednesday if it can’t reach a deal with Viacom.

A Viacom spokesman did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment. A company statement provided to Multichannel News, which covers the cable television industry, called the requested increase “fair.”

Suddenlink serves more than 1 million cable subscribers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.