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After a week-long blackout, Viacom Inc.’s (NASDAQ:VIA) networks will be finally available to DirecTV’s (NASDAQ:DTV) U.S. subscribers.
Viacom’s 17 cable networks, which include Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV, had become unavailable to DirecTV subscribers from July 10 following a fee-related dispute.
The blackout began after VIA and DTV failed to reach an agreement on terms of a new contract before the July 10th deadline. The two companies disagreed over a fee hike.
Satellite TV providers such as DirecTV pay a fee to media companies such as Viacom to carry their channels. Viacom had requested for a 30% hike in carriage fees. However, DirecTV said that the fee hike was not justified.
Viacom had argued that its networks account for approximately 20% of all viewing on DirecTV, however, account for below 5% of DTV’s programming costs. The two companies finally reached a deal to restore Viacom’s networks. However, the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Derek Chang, Executive Vice President of Content Strategy and Development at DirecTV, said that the issue serves notice to all media companies that bullying TV providers and their customers with blackouts wont get them a better deal.
