Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Stalemate over, all 26 Viacom channels return to DirecTV

By
Viacom channels return to DirecTV
Image used with permission by copyright holder

After a nine-day standoff with DirecTV, all 26 Viacom channels have returned to the satellite provider, according to announcements from DirecTV and Viacom. DirecTV subscribers will also now be able to watch Viacom programming over the Internet, through the DirecTV Everywhere service. DirecTV will now also have the option to add movie streaming service EPIX to its lineup.

The financial details of the deal have not yet been announced. But who cares? “The Daily Show” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” are back!

Recommended Videos

Update: Viacom will reportedly receive about $600 million a year from DirecTV to carry the channels, according to Bloomberg. This represents a 20 percent jump over the companies’ previous licensing agreement.

Related

The list of restored channels includes: Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick, Nickelodeon West, Tr3s, Centric, MTV India, Nickelodeon HD, Comedy Central HD, MTV HD, BET HD, VH1 HD, CMT HD and Spike HD.

On July 10, just before midnight, DirecTV customers lost access to these channels over a licensing dispute between the two companies. DirecTV wanted to pick and choose which Viacom channels to carry, saying that some channels no longer had enough viewership to justify the price in carrying them. The satellite provider also had issue with the fact that Viacom offered some shows for free via its website. Viacom, on the other hand, only wanted DirecTV to carry its full stable of channels, and was charing DirecTV about $1 billion more to do so.

Viacom later pulled full episodes of “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” as part of its efforts to force the deal. The company restored the episodes after “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart lambasted his employer on-air, though it is not clear whether that was the reason for the shows’ restoration.

“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,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president of content for DirecTV, in a statement. “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.”

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Couts
Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
AT&T TV reinvents cable for a new age, but keeps the tired old pricing model
AT&T TV Launches Nationwide

AT&T TV Overview | AT&T

AT&T's subscription TV service, AT&T TV -- not to be confused with AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) -- rolls out nationwide on Monday, March 2, after launching in more than a dozen markets last year. When you sign up for a two-year contract, you'll get an Android TV set-top box and a remote with a Google Assistant button. Frankly, it looks a lot like cable, which is exactly what AT&T TV is going for.

Read more
With a rebrand imminent, AT&T is hoping you forget what DirecTV Now was

Just in case AT&T's ever-growing slate of streaming platforms isn't enough to leave you baffled, the company recently announced that it'll be changing the name of its live TV streaming service, DirecTV Now, to AT&T TV Now sometime next month.

Somehow, AT&T TV Now is different from the live TV streaming service that AT&T announced last week, which is called AT&T TV. The two services aren't entirely separate, however. Over the next few weeks, AT&T will launch a new app, also called AT&T TV, that will support both AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now subscriptions. Which service you're using will be determined by your login credentials, AT&T says.

Read more
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are on sale for $170
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and their charging case.

If you're on the hunt for true wireless earbuds deals, here's an offer that you should consider -- the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for only $170, following a $60 discount from Samsung on their original price of $230. We're not sure how much time is remaining before they return to their regular price, so you need to make a quick decision on whether to buy these wireless earbuds. If you want them, proceed with the purchase as soon as you can as the offer may end at any moment.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer studio-quality sound while maintaining a comfortable design, so you'll be able to keep listening to your favorite playlists or watch several episodes of streaming shows over up to 8 hours of battery life and up to 30 hours including their charging case. The wireless earbuds easily pair with Samsung Galaxy devices, but they also work great if you're using an iPhone. If you ever lose them, SmartThings Find will help you locate them, and they come with IPX7 resistance against water, which means they can withstand immersion in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes.

Read more