Direct TV has over 20 Million cable subscribes and it looks like almost all of them took to twitter today to voice their anger over Direct TV dropping 26 of their channels. (Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick, Nickelodeon West, Tr3s, Centric, MTV India, Nickelodeon HD, Comedy Central HD, MTV HD, BET HD, VH1 HD, CMT HD and Spike HD) Whether you want to watch Hot in Cleveland, Dora the Explorer, or 16 & Pregnant these channels are some of the most popular on TV and bring in HUGE ratings.
Both of the companies have been pointing the finger at one another. In a nutshell it seems that Viacom wants Direct TV to pay them more money, and Direct TV is refusing to pay up. What interested me the most about this battle was the use of social media to protest and blame each other. This could prove dangerous for both companies depending on who the consumers believe is at fault. Not too long ago the Susan G Komen Foundation faced huge backlash through social media about their decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood.
Who’s side are you on? Check out Viacom and DirecTv’s websites for their official statements, and scroll down below to see the tweet and videos from both sides.
I think my favorite was ” you got Direct TV ?? I feel bad for you son… I got 99 channels and you only have 1″
and the Viacom Pop up response to the video of the DirectTV CEO. Quite creative
The Four Ps 