Viacom is apparently using a strong tactic in its contract negotiations
with DirecTV — the TV provider now says that it will lose access to a
total of 26 Viacom channels (including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon,
and more) as of July 10th if a deal isn’t reached.
For its part,
DirecTV says that it has urged Viacom to keep the channels available to
customers while they work out negotiations, but the provider claims that
Viacom sent a letter yesterday stating its intention to remove these
channels unless DirecTV pays an additional 30 percent (or a claimed one
billion dollars) over what it currently pays. Viacom, of course, is
painting DirecTV as the bad guy — in a video spot, the network conglomerate claims that “DirecTV is getting rid of MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and more.”
