Viacom Walks Away From DirectTV Negotiations

According to Variety, Viacom has walked away from negotiations with DirectTV. This means that Spike TV, Comedy Central, MTV and other Viacom properties will remain off air on DirectTV systems. DirecTV claims Viacom tried to add a last-minute item during negotiations while Viacom claims DirecTV has balked at revised proposals.

Of note to wrestling fans, Spike TV has been down 14 percent in viewership during negotiations (358,000 vs. 417,000 in daily viewership). This matches the drop-off for last week’s TNA iMPACT!.