Posted Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT by Dick Ward
The shows have been replaced with an ad calling out to viewers to call DirecTV and demand the channel be returned.
Yesterday, DirecTV released a statement saying that one of the big problems with paying more for Viacom programming is that some of the most popular shows, including The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Jersey Shore and more are available for free online.
In response to that, Viacom has removed all of those shows from the internet. Viacom says that these free episodes are intended to be a sort of advertisement for affiliates, but has removed them since, as Multichannel News writer Todd Spangler puts it, "DirecTV is marketing internet video destinations as an alternative to the full networks."
"Once again it's viewers who suffer when media companies stall in their negotiations," says John Bergmayer, staff attorney at consumer-advocacy group Public Knowledge. "Viacom has decided to take a service away from all Internet users in its attempt to punish DirecTV. It is apparent that Viacom puts little stock in the Internet and the online future of video if it is willing to use all Internet users as a pawn in its negotiations."
Source:Multichannel News
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