DirecTV和Viacom玩起了雞皮疙瘩，客戶輸了：Viacom剛剛中斷了多達26個DirecTV頻道，包括MTV、Comedy Central、Spike、VH1和Nickelodeon。和往常一樣，服務損失是合同續簽糾紛的直接結果。DirecTV聲稱，維亞康姆正在尋求DirecTV額外增加30%的版稅，以更新訂閱，估計總共額外支出10億美元，顯然DirecTV不願意支付，維亞康姆也不願意及時讓步以避免停電。

和往常一樣，雙方都有公關活動，以確保客戶將服務損失歸咎於另一家公司。DirecTV在網路上發起了一個名為“DirectTV承諾”的活動，稱費率上漲過高，並聲稱在試圖討價還價時要求Viacom繼續提供服務。維亞康姆有一個名為“When DirecTV Drops”的網站和幾篇博文，其中一篇博文聲稱，從技術上講，是DirecTV而不是Viacom放棄了維亞康姆頻道。一篇題為“解開旋轉”的部落格文章聲稱，DirecTV的訂戶將為費率的提高支付相當於每天額外幾便士的費用，DirecTV正走向創紀錄的利潤。

與此同時，維亞康姆旗下的博彩公司在Twitter上表示“對@DIRECTV拒絕與我們談判感到失望”，Spike program Impact Fattling也發起了自己的活動，Hulk Hogan在這段YouTube影片中告訴粉絲向DIRECTV投訴：

DirecTV和維亞康姆都明確表示願意談判。”我們完全沒有問題公平地補償維亞康姆，“我們一直非常願意達成協議，”DirecTV副總裁Derek Chang寫道維亞康姆寫道：“我們希望DirecTV能與我們合作，達成一項解決方案。”。

以下是雙方在停電開始後的完整宣告：

維亞康姆：

"We are deeply disappointed that DirecTV dropped Viacom’s channels before our midnight deadline this evening, severing our connection with its nearly 20 million subscribers nationwide. We proposed a fair deal that amounted to an increase of only a couple pennies per day, per subscriber, and we remained willing to negotiate that deal right up to this evening’s deadline. However, DirecTV refused to engage in meaningful conversation. We are hopeful that DirecTV will work with us toward a resolution, and stop denying its subscribers access to the networks they watch most."

直播電視：

"We have been very willing to get a deal done, but Viacom is pushing DIRECTV customers to pay more than a 30 percent increase, which equates to an extra $1 billion, despite the fact that the ratings for many of their main networks have plummeted and much of Viacom’s programming can be seen for free online. Viacom sent us a letter last night that outlined our obligati*** to remove the channels by midnight or face legal action just as they were falsely telling viewers DIRECTV was resp***ible.

Let's be clear, Viacom took these channels away from DIRECTV viewers. We have absolutely no problem compensating Viacom fairly, but they have now knowingly put our customers in the unreasonable position of either accepting their extravagant financial demands or losing some of their favorite TV shows. We feel our customers should not have to pay more for these networks than the customers of any other TV provider. We reiterated this to Viacom today and have not heard back from them.

We understand that Viacom’s acti*** are inconveniencing our customers so we are doing everything we can to help them find alternative programming until this gets resolved. Customers will now see a variety of replacement channels available to them on one screen, in a Mix Channel format, when they tune to a Viacom channel. For instance, those going to the Nickelodeon channel slot will see alternative choices for children’s programming such as The Disney Channel, ABC Family, Cartoon Network, PBS Sprout, The Hub and Boomerang. Customers can also see full-length Viacom episodes for free by going to www.directvpromise.com and clicking on the ‘Other Ways to Watch’ tab.

你得自己決定該怪哪家公司，如果不是兩個的話。