Viacom and DirecTV Reach New Agreement

An anonymous reader writes "About 10 days after Viacom pulled 26 channels from DirecTV over a contract dispute, the two companies have finally come to an agreement that should have DirecTV fans in need of their MTV rejoicing. While precise details of the newly agreed upon contract weren't made public, Bloomberg is reporting that the new contract is for 7 years with Viacom set to receive more than $600 million a year from DirecTV. That represents a 20% payment increase from the previous contract and is slightly below the 30% increase, or $1 billion, Viacom was initially pushing for." The disturbing part of this dispute, to me, was how Viacom pulled its shows from the internet in addition to DirecTV. Advertising your side of the story is one thing, but going out of your way to directly frustrate viewers who are interested in your shows seems like bad business.

Re:Pulled the plug on pay TV 5 years ago...

[morari]

It's been about 7 years for me. I have a cheap Netflix account and a server full of ripped media. It all plays just fine through my Boxee at almost no cost at all. I don't watch more than a couple of hours of movie/television in any given day anyway. I pity people who have nothing better to do in life than sit around watching the latest reality show.

Re:two quick points...

[acidfast7]

1. I wouldn't put MTV in the keep category. Perhaps in the 80s with Liquid Television and Remote Control. But, their reality TV is abysmal, at best. Nick is great for kids. 2. Yeah, the commercials really bug me. In most of the EU, there's a huge "Commercial" text on the screen with a timer counting down to 00:00 so you know when the programming will be back on. Sometimes, it's 5mins and it's great that I know exactly how long I have.

Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

"The disturbing part of this dispute, to me, was how Viacom pulled its shows from the internet in addition to DirecTV. Advertising your side of the story is one thing, but going out of your way to directly frustrate viewers who are interested in your shows seems like bad business."

This was one of DirecTVs key complaints. Why should DirecTV pay for content that Viacom was giving away for free on the internet? Not really an incentive to "pay" for that same content.

Re:two quick points...

[MitchDev]

I've said that for years. PLUS, if so many of Viacom's channels are primarily AD-supported (MTV and Nickleodeon runs TONS of commercials), pulling the channels off of Direct TV means fewer viewers, meaning the advertisers are getting ripped off by Viacom. Viacom and companies like it should be PAYING the cable and satellite companies to carry their channels. If you want to charge for access to the channels, those channels shouldn't be double-dipping and showing commercials as well....