DIRECTV’S STRATEGY IN VIACOM DISPUTE SLAMMED

DirecTV may have blundered when it began telling subscribers on which websites they could find content from Viacom’s channels, after the channels went black on the satellite provider this week. BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield noted on Wednesday that DirecTV had only succeeded in calling attention to the fact that, unlike its cable competitors, it cannot provide an adequate Internet service to its customers. If they are currently receiving that service from a cable company, customers only need to make a phone call to switch over their television service as well and regain the Viacom channels. Bottom line, Greenfield concluded, it’s “hard to imagine DirecTV maintaining its current subscriber base and/or attracting new subscribers without its most-viewed cable networks.” Upping the pressure on DirecTV, Viacom on Wednesday yanked its networks’ programs from the Internet, including The Daily Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, Jersey Shore and The Colbert Report.