DirecTv Customers Lose In Viacom Dispute

DirecTV subscribers are on Day 2 without Viacom's cable channels including MTV, Comedy Centrtal, Nickelodeon, TvLand, Spike, CMT and VH1.The issues are not just about money. DirecTV is also upset at the level of content Viacom puts on the Web for free.

That means almost 20 million DirecTV subscribers around the country may have to get used to life without "Dora the Explorer," "Snooki and Jwoww,""The Daily Show"and other popular programs from Viacom's networks.

At issue are price increases Viacom wants to extract from DirecTV to keep carrying its cable channels.

"Viacom is pushing DirecTV customers to pay more than a 30% increase, which equates to an extra $1 billion," Derek Chang, DirecTV's executive vice president of content, strategy and development, said in a statement. Chang argued that the increases are out of line given declining ratings for many of Viacom's channels over the last year, including the kids network Nickelodeon.

Chang said the company was willing to keep the popular channels on its systems while talks continued but couldn't get permission from Viacom.

"Let's be clear, Viacom took these channels from DirecTV viewers," Chang said.

latimes, directv.com