Add programming and affiliate executives at DirecTV and Rainbow Media and MSG to those who may be trying to hammer out carriage renewals on New Year's Eve.
The multiyear distribution contracts for Rainbow Media's national services AMC, We TV, IFC and Fuse conclude with DirecTV on Dec. 31, as do the deals for regional sports networks MSG and MSG Plus. Sources familiar with the negotiations also indicate that Sundance Channel, which Rainbow acquired last year, and Wedding Central, the spin-off of the women's-targeted We service, are also part of the negotiations.
A DirecTV spokesman confirmed in an email that "we are actively negotiating with them, having productive discussions" without providing further elaboration. Officials at Rainbow Media and MSG both declined to comment.