With the given that Viacom is never blameless in any contract dispute over what it charges for its channels, it's interesting that this would come up this week:
Viacom at Risk of Disappearing from DIRECTV NOW, AT&T WatchTV, DirecTV, and AT&T U-Verse This Friday
And how Viacom is using AT&T/DirecTV Now's new packages as an example of malfeasance in this quote from the linked article:
Viacom at Risk of Disappearing from DIRECTV NOW, AT&T WatchTV, DirecTV, and AT&T U-Verse This Friday
And how Viacom is using AT&T/DirecTV Now's new packages as an example of malfeasance in this quote from the linked article:
Viacom is the No. 1 cable family serving key customers and communities on AT&T-DirecTV’s services across kids, teens, 18-49, African Americans and Hispanics. We have made a series of offers that are good for consumers and good for AT&T – giving subscribers more access to the Viacom channels they love, including Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount, while enabling AT&T-DirecTV to lower customers’ bills in the process.
Unfortunately, AT&T is abusing its new market position by favoring its own content – which significantly underperforms Viacom’s – to stifle competition. AT&T-DirecTV’s behavior is also consistent with a recent pattern of gouging their customers by charging them higher prices for an inferior product with fewer channels. Especially troubling, AT&T-DirecTV is marginalizing diverse audiences in its new DTV packages and threatening to do the same with their existing products.
Unfortunately, AT&T is abusing its new market position by favoring its own content – which significantly underperforms Viacom’s – to stifle competition. AT&T-DirecTV’s behavior is also consistent with a recent pattern of gouging their customers by charging them higher prices for an inferior product with fewer channels. Especially troubling, AT&T-DirecTV is marginalizing diverse audiences in its new DTV packages and threatening to do the same with their existing products.
