VIACOM VS. DIRECTV: Continue to Negotiate While Viewers Wait

July 13, 2012 - 10:37 am | Category: Tech

Viacom and DirecTV were still at butting heads over the deal that allows the satellite broadcaster to carry MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon Thursday, while subscribers waited it out without some of their favorite shows.

In between the negotiations, the two sides were taking shots are each other. A DirecTV executive said that Viacom’s major networks’ ratings have dropped, and he can’t justify a 30-percent price increase — $1 billion in fees from DirecTV — to carry their channels.

Viacom counters that their channels account for 20-percent of all viewing on DirecTV, but they only get “about five-percent” of the sat-caster’s licensing fees.