Viacom, DirecTV, And The Future Of TV Blackouts

Viacom and DirecTV ended their dispute over carriage fees on Friday, which saw the return of 17 Viacom channels on the cable satellite service. But who won, who lost, and what does the resolution mean for DirecTV, and for the rest of the industry? Given that Viacom reportedly didn't get what it wanted in the negotiations, it probably will mean even more blackouts as time goes on. Viacom wasn't available to DirecTV customers for nine days over the course of the blackout, and in that time key channels like Nickelodeon saw inevitable ratings declines. Ratings at the childrens network fell some 20 percent during that time. Meanwhile, Disney, the channel DirecTV replaced Nickelodeon with, saw its ratings increase a comparable amount. According to Bernstein Research analysts Todd Juenger and Craig Moffett, that implies it was Viacom which came back to the bargaining table and attempted to end the blackout.

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