Topic: DirecTV/Viacom Dispute

[trapeze]

Several channels on DirecTV are gone...none that I miss all that much, though.

[ToddF]

Let's see, Netflix, still there.  Wall Street Journal Channel still there.  Drama Fever still there.  Crackle, still there.  Crunchyroll still there.  CNET TV, good to go.  GBTV, got it.

I'm covered.  So glad I don't have to fret about another massive (30%?!) price increase for crap I don't watch.

[EW1(SG)]

These disputes are actually pretty frequent as the entertainment companies try to renegotiate contracts.  We see them in the market at least a dozen times a year...and that's just on the local broadcast channels that we monitor (both OTA and via CATV).  We see them much more often in the national cable market.

[Glock32]

These disputes ultimately boil down to the fact that content producers (and to some extent the end providers too) are trying to force the purchase of content as a package deal. Channels like the LOGO faggot channel probably wouldn't survive in a system where the consumer pays only for the particular channels they want. Everywhere you turn, whether it's government or rent seeking businesses, someone is looking to force you to subsidize crap you don't want or need.