By Aaron Smith @CNNMoneyTech July 20, 2012: 11:20 AM ET
Viacom and DirecTV have hatched a deal and ended their programming blackout, so subscribers can once again watch Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' with Jon Stewart (above), MTV's Jersey Shore, and more than a dozen other channels. Viacom and DirecTV in deal to restore programming
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Viacom and DirecTV announced Friday that they have reached a deal, putting aside their dispute and allowing Viacom's programming to immediately return to the airwaves.
The agreement ends a fee dispute that had interrupted programming since July 10.
Viacom blacked out channels for 20 million customers of DirecTV (DTV, Fortune 500). Among the channels affected were Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, Spike and VH1. The blackout came as the companies hit the end of a seven-year deal without agreeing on terms for a new contract.
The companies did not provide a dollar figure on Friday for their new deal, but Nomura analyst Michael Nathanson published a note saying he believes that Viacom got a sizeable fee increase from DirecTV.
"We estimate Viacom implied domestic affiliate payment per household is in the area of $2.80 and DTV's old deal was in the area of $2.25 per sub per month," Nathanson wrote.
He thinks that Viacom (VIA) got at least 55 cents per month, per subscriber more from DirecTV, putting DirecTV's rates closer to the $3 per month that Viacom distributors pay on average.
Viacom said Friday that it was "extremely pleased to bring its programming back to DirecTV subscribers."
Throughout the impasse, the companies took acrimonious shots at one another, but on Friday they buried the hatchet. Their fee-fight websites, once filled crying cartoon characters and scathing attacks, were replaced with little more than the text of the press release announcing the deal.
Nomura analyst Nathanson said the deal "reinforces the power of Viacom's networks and brands, especially in the face of weak short-term ratings."
But tech analyst Jeff Kagan thinks there will be lasting fallout from the fight, one of the biggest of the industry's endless skirmishes. DirecTV is the second-largest television service provider in the country, behind Comcast (CMCSA), and Viacom owns eight of the top 30 cable networks.
The blackouts and disputes are a "longer term problem that will continue to jump up and bite us all, year after year until it is fixed," he wrote in a research note.
"The problem is customers want and expect a decrease in price and are continually disappointed," Kagan said. "The industry may be preparing to go through a big transformation over the next few years just like the wireless industry did with Apple and Google."
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Today is
Not A Win For DirectTV Customers
The Direct T. V. Customers, has missed days of programs that they normally would have viewed everyday, and these programs provide some type of daily schedule, daily commitment or daily schedule filler.
However, that single customer who pays $100 plus a month, for his Direct T. V., is the last consideration for the board members of Direct T. V., who are more concerned with "profits".
For the average person, having that program that plays at a specific hour each day, fills a gap, provides a time of fulfillment, or provides a time of pleasure, which may be the only pleasing time of the day for that individual.
The Life of that customer is based on a schedule, and when something goes wrong in the daily schedule, the day is all screwed up, resulting in immense frustration for the individual.
Yet, Direct T. V. cares not for the customer, and their refusal to realize that each individual is a individual case, and their lives are individual life, and not one "unit" of thousands.
Now that Direct T. V. has come to terms with Viacom,
Direct T.V. simply tell the "units" that they will simply charge the "units" a prorated charge for the missed days of Viacom Services.
Wrong Answer. The disruption of a daily schedule for more than 1 day affects a person significantly more than the value of $3 dollars that Direct T. V. will remove from the "unit" monthly charges.
I say screw Direct T. V... If they were concerned with their customers, they would have took the losses while they debated with Viacom in order to ensure that their customers services go uninterrupted.
Direct T. V. did not..., therefore, they have lost me as a customer, because the loss of a program that I enjoy is worth more than $3 dollars, it is part of my life, and to remove a significant part of my daily life isn't a $3 dollar change.
In Fact, I'd go as far as to say that each day that my life was disrupted by this issue between Viacom & Direct T.V., is worth $100 bucks to me, and how not being able to maintain my life style, due to a issue that ought not include me, affects my peace of mind.
In My Opinion
ASMFMB
5/1/2012
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