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| DirecTV drop to black out MTV programming |
The threat that millions could be left in the dark has MTV and the Jersey Shore stars taking action. A statement blocks all MTV.com visitors from accessing the network's website today (Tuesday) until they listen to a short video about the DirecTV change. Several of the Jersey Shore stars including Mike 'The Situation' and Pauly D even took to Twitter to make fans aware of the situation. "DIRECTV is dropping MTV, that means no more Jersey Shore so call 800 531 5000 to stop them!" they both tweeted.
The major reasons behind why DirecTV is threatening to drop Viacom channels is basically over dollars and cents. The bottom line is the current distribution deal between DirecTV and Viacom expires tonight after months of negotiations. In a statement on the Viacom website it is noted that, "DirecTV provided Viacom with a counter proposal that included a lower rate than Viacom receives from any other distributor in the industry. With this offer, our negotiations have reached an impasse." DirecTV retorted on their own website saying, "'(We have) absolutely no intention of removing your favorite Viacom networks ... but unfortunately Viacom executives sent a letter to us late last night, forcing us to take these channels down by midnight tonight if we don't come to an agreement." The site goes on to say, "Viacom wants you to pay over 30 percent more to keep the channels you are already receiving costing customers $1 billion."
By: Melissa Viscount
