Viacom and DirecTV continue to spar

By Joe Flint

July 13, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORCRP015173”&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; subscribers looking to plop the kids in front of the TV to watch Nickelodeon this weekend will likely have to use Netflix instead.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Although talks between the satellite broadcaster and &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORCRP016274”&amp;gt;Viacom Inc.&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt;, parent of cable channels &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORCRP000011576”&amp;gt;MTV&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt;, Nickelodeon, &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORCRP000011741”&amp;gt;Comedy Central&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt; and VH1 continue, reaching a deal before the end of the weekend seems unlikely. &amp;lt;span&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; subscribers have been without Viacom’s channels since Tuesday night.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;Meanwhile, the war of words continues. Viacom has been bombarding the airwaves and newspapers with ads critical of &amp;lt;span&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; and encouraging its subscribers to switch to other distributors. It even made an ad spoofing &amp;lt;span&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;’s popular commercials about what happens if you don’t have its service (see above).&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; is countering with its own campaign about how it is trying to draw a line in the sand on rising programming costs with Viacom, as well launching new ads promoting itself versus rival satellite broadcaster Dish, which has been very aggressive in trying to woo new subscribers.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;RELATED: &amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://161.35.110.226/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-viadish-20120710,0,4339293.story”&amp;gt;Viacom and DirecTV at odds over new deal&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://161.35.110.226/business/la-fi-ct-directv-viacom-20120712,0,5563710.story”&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; not carrying Viacom channels as negotiations continue&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://161.35.110.226/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-viadirect-20120712,0,4033378.story”&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;The &amp;lt;span&amp;gt;sitdown&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;: A chat with the negotiators for Viacom and &amp;lt;span&amp;gt;DirecTV&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Viacom and DirecTV continue to spar

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