So, media giant Viacom and DirecTV are having a huge pissing contest because DirecTV seems insistent on changing Viacom's practice of "all or nothing" with regard to their channels.
Viacom, and other media giants for that matter, want cable companies to have all their channels bundled together rather than the companies choosing which they want. The cable companies are bitching that they are already paying millions as it is and would rather divvy it up by what they would prefer to carry.
The end-state of this pissing match is that last night, 10 July 2012 at midnight, DirecTV blackout all Viacom channels. 26 in total.
This is crap as I, the consumer, get boned (big Spike TV and CC fan), and the kiddies get screwed out of Nick (big Dora and Power Rangers fans).
The 26 channels include the MTV Network (7 channels), Nickelodeon (5 channels), CMT (3 channels), VH1 (3 channels), BET (4 channels), and also TV Land, Spike TV, Logo, TMF, VIVA, Palladia, and the biggest sin of them all, Comedy Central.
I personally see them dropping channels as a breach of the service contract and will be changing cable companies. Who out there on DirecTV agrees?