DIRECTV & Viacom Reach Agreement for Return of Viacom’s 17 Channels Including Extensive New Digital Rights for DIRECTV Cust...
July 20 2012 - 6:11AM
Business Wire
DIRECTV has reached a new long-term agreement with Viacom to
restore 17 channels (including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV,
BET, Spike, CMT, TV Land and ten other channels) that Viacom had
taken away from DIRECTV customers on July 10. Viacom has returned
all affected networks.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
In addition to the channels’ return, DIRECTV customers will also
gain the ability to see Viacom programming on tablets, laptops,
handhelds and other personal devices via the DIRECTV Everywhere
platform. Carriage of the EPIX movie channel is not required as
part of the new agreement.
“We are very pleased to be able to restore the channels to our
customers and thank them for their unprecedented patience and
support,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president of Content
Strategy and Development for DIRECTV. “It’s unfortunate that Viacom
took the channels away from customers to try to gain leverage, but
in the end, it’s clear our customers recognized that tactic for
what it was.”
Chang added, “The attention surrounding this unnecessary and
ill-advised blackout by Viacom has accomplished one key thing: it
serves notice to all media companies that bullying TV providers and
their customers with blackouts won’t get them a better deal. It’s
high time programmers ended these anti-consumer blackouts once and
for all and prove our industry is about enabling people to connect
to their favorite programs rather than denying them access.”
The dispute helped generate significant public support from
hundreds of thousands of customers and also, surprisingly enough,
many high-profile DIRECTV competitors. The 850 small and
independently owned local cable systems that make up the American
Cable Association joined the anti-blackout chorus, as did Cox
Communications, Time Warner Cable and Mediacom.
About DIRECTV:
DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is one of the world’s
leading providers of digital television entertainment services
delivering a premium video experience through state-of-the-art
technology, unmatched programming and industry leading customer
service to 33 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In
the U.S., DIRECTV offers its 19.9 million customers access to more
than 170 HD channels and Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound,
access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET™,
Emmy-award winning technology and higher customer satisfaction than
the leading cable companies for 11 years running. DIRECTV Latin
America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in
Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin
American countries, leads the pay-TV category in technology,
programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television
experience to 12 million customers. DIRECTV sports and
entertainment properties include three Regional Sports Networks
(Northwest, Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh) as well as a 60 percent
interest in Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information
on DIRECTV, please visit www.directv.com.
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