Why Millions of DirecTV Customers have Lost Access to 17 Viacom Broadcast Channels – How to Watch Shows Online

For millions of subscribers to the largest provider of satellite television, DirecTV, any attempt to watch shows on 17 popular channels of Viacom broadcasting were met with a video message from the CEO of DirecTV. Channels affected by the service interruption today include Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, TV Land, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Spike and others.

The interruption in service, as explained by DirecTV, is the result of a contract dispute over a programming fee increase demand from Viacom. According to a statement from the satellite provider, the two sides could not agree on the amount of increase in fees. While DirecTV was willing to pay more for the Viacom channels, what the company called “extreme increases,” were considered too much – amounting to an additional $1 Billion spread across DirecTV’s customer base.

“Programmers like Viacom typically won’t allow anyone to buy their channels individually, but we hope to change that,” DirecTV said in its statement on Tuesday morning. “We currently pay them hundreds of millions of dollars every year already, and if Viacom thinks their networks are worth a billion more, then you have to be able to select what’s most important in your own living room. It’s your money, so you should be able to decide.”

A similar blackout of Viacom channels was avoided earlier this year when a dispute between Viacom and Time Warner Cable was settled just prior to the New Year’s Day deadline.

For DirecTV customers eager to find a way to watch their favorite shows on the Viacom networks, DirecTV is providing information on their web site showing customers how to watch many of the shows for free online. DirecTV has set up a page on their web site, www.directv.com/promise, where updated information on the service interruption can be found as well as where to watch many the missing channels and shows for free on the internet.