Viacom, DirecTV end dispute over carriage

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Viacom has reached a new programming fee agreement with DirecTV, after a 10-day impasse on commercial terms that saw the blackout of channels like MTV and Nickelodeon on the DTH platform.

The 17 Viacom channels had not been accessible to 20 million DirecTV customers as there was a dispute on how much DirecTV should pay to carry those channels.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Viacom says that it is extremely pleased to bring its programming back to DirecTV subscribers, and thanked everyone affected by the disruption for their patience and understanding during this challenging period.