Community Corner

DirecTV Customers Lose Viacom Channels

The dispute is over fees paid to DirecTV. Are you affected?

A fee dispute between satellite TV provider DirecTV and the Viacom network has reached viewers. Viacom removed several of its networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, from DIRECTV on Tuesday, according to media reports.

It is unclear how long the dispute will last. As many as 20 million viewers are affected nationwide. A total of 17 channels are involved.

-- Are you a DirecTV subscriber? Are you upset about this situation?Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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DirecTV, which does business in the Gwinnett area, says Viacom is demanding a fee increase.

“Programmers like Viacom typically won’t allow anyone to buy their channels individually, but we hope to change that,” DirecTV said in its statement on Tuesday morning. “We currently pay them hundreds of millions of dollars every year already, and if Viacom thinks their networks are worth a billion more, then you have to be able to select what’s most important in your own living room. It’s your money, so you should be able to decide.”

Find out what's happening in Suwaneewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On its website, Viacom's statement read, "We are deeply disappointed that DirecTV dropped Viacom’s channels before our midnight deadline this evening, severing our connection with its nearly 20 million subscribers nationwide.  We proposed a fair deal that amounted to an increase of only a couple pennies per day, per subscriber, and we remained willing to negotiate that deal right up to this evening’s deadline. However, DirecTV refused to engage in meaningful conversation. We are hopeful that DirecTV will work with us toward a resolution, and stop denying its subscribers access to the networks they watch most."

Reaction has been strong on Twitter. Actress/comedian Wanda Sykes tweeted: "Hey DirectTv, how am I going to explain to my kids that they can't watch "BubbleGuppies?" They don't know Viacom."

 

 


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