Andre Yoskowitz
21 Jul 2012 17:05
Earlier this month, we reported that DirecTV had dropped over two dozen Viacom cable channels thanks to an ongoing dispute over licensing fees.
Popular channels like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV went dark while the two companies tried to work out an agreement on fees.
Earlier this week, the groups announced a formal agreement, and 26 channels have been returned.
Says Viacom: "Viacom is extremely pleased to bring its programming back to DirecTV subscribers, and thanks everyone affected by the disrupting for their patience and understanding during this challenging period."
Allegedly, DirecTV will pay out $600 million per year for access to the channels, which is an increase of over 20 percent from the previous deal.
Additionally, with the new deal, DirecTV subscribers will be able to watch Viacom content via "tablets, laptops, handhelds and other personal devices" using the DirecTV Everywhere platform.
DirecTV has 19 million subscribers and is the largest satellite TV provider in the nation.