DirecTV Could Drop Versus Sept. 1
Carriage fees at the center of deal dispute
By Mike Farrell--Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/21/2009 11:34:41 AM
DirecTV has notified its customers that it will drop sports channel Versus on Sept. 1 unless the two can work out a carriage agreement.Versus, formerly Outdoor Life Network, was rebranded in 2006 and is the home of the National Hockey League as well as collegiate sports from the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League conferences, the Tour de France bicycle race, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cage fighting (WEC), the Indy Racing League and Professional Boxing.
The network is available in about 75 million homes and is wholly-owned by Comcast. It is unclear how many subscribers the network has on DirecTV, which has about 24.2 million subscribers overall.
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Talkback
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Another Comcast screw job and dirty business!!! Free Directv to keep the same deal in place at least until a long term deal can be reached.
Scott - 9/2/2009 12:39:25 AM EDT -
We are outraged over Versus/Comcast's tactics to secure their unwarranted carriage fees.
DirecTV is correct when it states that viewership is high on a sporadic basis.
Even more importantly, we are EXTREMELY disappointed with Versus/Comcast's handling of this situation. They have NOT negotiated on a good faith basis. Instead they are waging a guerilla war. Versus/Comcast is bullying their viewers.
We are so irritated with Versus/Comcast that we are sending email messages to all sponsors and advertisers.
We will no longer support Versus/Comcast or any sponsor/advertiser that affiliates with them.
Matthew Michels - 8/30/2009 6:26:54 PM EDT -
Of course, DirecTV (which is a "carrier" of other people's programming) could simply create it's own network, and outbid all the other networks for the rights.
It's a competitive world out there, folks. Everybody wants to sell you television, but few want to take the risks (and the expense) of producing something worth watching.
Ken English - 8/23/2009 10:04:27 AM EDT -
It is a lousy excuse for a corperation like Comcast to be greedy. If Charlie Ergen of Dish Network find out, Dish Network could side with DirecTV over Versus owned by Comcast. Comcast a major hog. Comcast and big cable our hoping a failure in HR 1019 bill to taxing satellite more then cable. The video tax.
Thomas S.Ingram II - 8/21/2009 7:13:05 PM EDT
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