Bad news for fellow DirecTV customers

Viacom also owns Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

This situation just keeps getting worse.

 

I could give a rat's ass about the loss of MTV and its weak sister. On the other hand, losing Spike and its 1,000 Ways to Die marathons are another story.

 

At some point, ala carte TV channels have to happen, right? Probably once everybody gets Internet-connected TVs or something. I don't want my DirecTV bill to go up to pay for MTV, MTV2, VH-1 and CMT - stations I have removed from my onscreen guide.

 

Dish just did the same thing with AMC and all of its channels.

 

Thankfully, we've avoided regulatory solutions so far.
It will sort itself out based on regular market forces.

I watch Comedy Central frequently, but nothing on there is appointment watching for me. I like having it, but I'm not upset about it going away.
My guess is most of Viacom's cadre of channels falls in the same boat for most viewers.

 

Except for viewers with small children, who will march on DirecTV and Viacom with torches and pitchforks over Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. disappearing. I don't think this is going to last long.

 

The Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon thing is bad. Thank goodness for the DVR and for for Disney.

Sucks for me tonight, as I usually flip over to "Friends" for an episode after the White Sox or Cubs. No White Sox tonight. No Cubs. No "Friends."

 

Even if Nick and Nick Jr. go away, there are still a lot of channels that deliver children's programming.

 

Doesn't work that way. Kids don't watch "children's programming." They watch Spongebob and iCarly and a lot of other shows that are gone now.

Seriously, a few days of the blowback DirecTV is going to get and they'll pay any price to get Nick and Nick Jr. on the air again.

 

Well, I don't have kids. If I did, I think I'd tell them to watch something else.
But we'll see, I guess. I'd like to keep Comedy Central, but not if my DirecTV bill is going up.

 

A la carte TV was there with C-band dishes. If a la carte happens, the average bill would go up for most customers.

 

There was talk about a la carte through regulation about five years ago. I think a regulatory solution is usually a bad one.
I think consumers are quickly developing much more granular tastes, but it's up to the producers and the providers to find the most effective and profitable means of delivery.
Personally, I'm not willing to take on any more expense for TV viewing. It's not worth it, even though I watch a lot of TV.