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Viacom channels go dark on DirecTV
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David
Jul 11, 2012, 12:56:48 AM7/11/12
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http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/no-deal-directv-to-lose-viacoms-channels-at-midnight
No Deal: DirecTV Loses Viacom�s Channels As Carriage Talks Break Down
By DAVID LIEBERMAN
DirecTV�s 20M customers lost Viacom�s 17 channels � including
Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central � at about 11:50 PM ET. Now the
finger-pointing is underway. Derek Chang, the satellite company�s EVP
for Content, Strategy and Development, says that Viacom �sent us a
letter last night that outlined our obligations to remove the channels
by midnight or face legal action just as they were falsely telling
viewers DirecTV was responsible. Let�s be clear, Viacom took these
channels away from DirecTV viewers.� But Viacom says �DirecTV dropped
the channels without giving Viacom advanced warning.� They last spoke
at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, the company says. The big issue is price:
DirecTV says that Viacom is demanding 30% more for its channels �
equal to about $1B. It isn�t justified, Chang says, due to �the fact
that the ratings for many of their main networks have plummeted and
much of Viacom�s programming can be seen for free online.� Viacom
counters that it �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.�
Viewers who tune in to a Viacom network will see a mix of replacement
channels, DirecTV says: For example, in the Nickelodeon slot customers
will find other children�s programming choices including The Disney
Channel, ABC Family, Cartoon Network, PBS Sprout, The Hub and
Boomerang. In addition, customers can �see full-length Viacom episodes
for free by going to www.directvpromise.com and clicking on the �Other
Ways to Watch� tab,� DirecTV says.
The big question now is: who can hold out the longest? Bernstein
Research�s Craig Moffett says that �DirecTV would appear to have
significant leverage this time around� because of the weak ratings at
Nickelodeon and MTV. But the consensus is that both sides will want to
settle this soon. Viacom says that its channels account for about 20%
of all the viewing on DirecTV. Nomura Securities� Michael Nathanson
predicts that with no deal �this negotiation between Viacom and
DirecTV will turn negative very quickly.� In the end, though, he
expects Viacom to receive at least high single digit annual rate
increases over the life of its deal. �We do not believe Viacom is
worried about the short-term quarterly impact,� he says. Investors
didn�t seem especially fearful on Tuesday: On a day when the
benchmarck Standard & Poors 500 was down about 0.8%, Viacom dropped
1.6% and DirecTV was down 0.6%.
No Deal: DirecTV Loses Viacom�s Channels As Carriage Talks Break Down
By DAVID LIEBERMAN
DirecTV�s 20M customers lost Viacom�s 17 channels � including
Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central � at about 11:50 PM ET. Now the
finger-pointing is underway. Derek Chang, the satellite company�s EVP
for Content, Strategy and Development, says that Viacom �sent us a
letter last night that outlined our obligations to remove the channels
by midnight or face legal action just as they were falsely telling
viewers DirecTV was responsible. Let�s be clear, Viacom took these
channels away from DirecTV viewers.� But Viacom says �DirecTV dropped
the channels without giving Viacom advanced warning.� They last spoke
at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, the company says. The big issue is price:
DirecTV says that Viacom is demanding 30% more for its channels �
equal to about $1B. It isn�t justified, Chang says, due to �the fact
that the ratings for many of their main networks have plummeted and
much of Viacom�s programming can be seen for free online.� Viacom
counters that it �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.�
Viewers who tune in to a Viacom network will see a mix of replacement
channels, DirecTV says: For example, in the Nickelodeon slot customers
will find other children�s programming choices including The Disney
Channel, ABC Family, Cartoon Network, PBS Sprout, The Hub and
Boomerang. In addition, customers can �see full-length Viacom episodes
for free by going to www.directvpromise.com and clicking on the �Other
Ways to Watch� tab,� DirecTV says.
The big question now is: who can hold out the longest? Bernstein
Research�s Craig Moffett says that �DirecTV would appear to have
significant leverage this time around� because of the weak ratings at
Nickelodeon and MTV. But the consensus is that both sides will want to
settle this soon. Viacom says that its channels account for about 20%
of all the viewing on DirecTV. Nomura Securities� Michael Nathanson
predicts that with no deal �this negotiation between Viacom and
DirecTV will turn negative very quickly.� In the end, though, he
expects Viacom to receive at least high single digit annual rate
increases over the life of its deal. �We do not believe Viacom is
worried about the short-term quarterly impact,� he says. Investors
didn�t seem especially fearful on Tuesday: On a day when the
benchmarck Standard & Poors 500 was down about 0.8%, Viacom dropped
1.6% and DirecTV was down 0.6%.
Obveeus
Jul 11, 2012, 4:08:39 PM7/11/12
to
"David" <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/no-deal-directv-to-lose-viacoms-channels-at-midnight
>
> No Deal: DirecTV Loses Viacom's Channels As Carriage Talks Break Down
Wednesday night:
FUTURAMA: 10:00pm Eastern on Comedy Central
REAL WORLD: 10:00pm Eastern on MTV
Thursday:
SNOOKI & JWOW: 10:00pm Eastern on MTV
AWKWARD: 10:30pm Eastern on MTV
Nickelodeon may be the hardest hit as they offer multiple programs in the
daytime as well as Nick at Night stuff that shows up on the top100 cable
shows each day.
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