Skip to main content

Stalemate over, all 26 Viacom channels return to DirecTV

Viacom channels return to DirecTV

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!

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.

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
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
It’s gonna be a long, cold winter: AT&T yanks HBO from Dish and Sling TV
HBO-headquarters

In what could be a sign of things to come -- as well as a microcosm of the rapidly consolidating media landscape -- HBO went dark Thursday for millions of Dish Network subscribers, as well as subscribers to Dish's streaming service, Sling TV, due to a contract dispute. While blackouts aren't uncommon during difficult negotiations between TV producers and distributors, the conversation surrounding this particular feud suggests that it could be the first volley in a bigger battle between two very different satellite providers.

The blackout occurred as HBO and parent company AT&T (which acquired the premium cable network as part of its controversial acquisition of Time Warner) were in the process of negotiating a renewal of Dish's HBO contract. Those talks apparently reached an impasse, and HBO went dark on Dish and its streaming service Sling TV just after midnight when the contract expired.
Shots fired
The Dish blackout was the first distribution-related blackout for HBO programming in the company's history, dating back 45 years.

Read more
Fall 2018 TV: Here’s when your favorite shows are returning
2018 fall tv show premiere dates charlie cox stars as matt murdockdaredevil in marvels the defenders streaming now on netflix

As the summer winds down, it’s time for some of our favorite series to return to the small screen.

From sitcoms to dramas, streaming services and network television, here are some of best series returning in late September and through the end of 2018. Mark your calendars, set your DVRs, and plan accordingly.

Read more
DirecTV Now is the latest live TV streaming service to jack up its monthly fees
best streaming TV service

Cutting the cord with live TV streaming services may still be cheaper than cable, but it's not as cheap as it used to be. Earlier this year YouTube TV raised its price for new subscribers, and just last week Sling TV announced it was raising the price of its Sling Orange plan by $5 per month. Now DirecTV Now is following suit, increasing the price for each of its plans by $5 per month, CordCutters reports.

DirecTV Now's lowest-tier programming package, Live a Little, will rise from $35 to $40 per month, while the Just Right package will go from $50 to $55 per month. The second-highest package, Go Big, will increase from $60 to $65 per month, while the offering with the most channels, Gotta Have It, will rise from $70 to $75. According to the company, this price increase is about keeping up with the competition.

Read more