• by Wayne Friedman , September 1, 2009

Another battle between a sports cable network and a TV distributor has resulted in the removal of cable sports programming.

DirecTV has taken off Versus, the mid-size sports cable network owned by the big cable operator Comcast Corp., as of Sept. 1 because of what it says are "ridiculous" demands concerning a proposed rate hike. DirecTV says Versus wants a 20% rate hike.

According to SNL Kagan, Versus gets 18 cents per subscriber per month in carriage fees from cable and satellite distributors.

A spokesman for DirecTV said although the network will have spikes in viewership from its major sporting events, such as the National Hockey League, it has as much as 10 hours a day of infomercials. "It's a ratings loser," he said.

A story in Media Daily News in February ("Cable Sports Nets Pay More To Play," Feb. 27) noted that Versus was one of the highest in the cost per household rating -- some 25 cents per subscriber for each household rating point -- of any cable network. It was ranked fifth-highest in 2008. The highest was the NFL Network, at 52 cents per subscriber. Other sports networks were also high on the list.

In addition to the NHL, Versus carries the Tour de France bicycle race, collegiate sports from the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League conferences. It also airs the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cage fighting and the Indy Racing League.

The news that DirecTV would be dropping Versus has resulted in limited public outrage, according to DirecTV officials.

"Regardless, we will continue to negotiate with Versus to try and reach a fair settlement, but if they continue to make demands that do not reflect reality, we will have no choice but to live without the channel," said a DirecTV press release.

Jamie Davis, president of Versus, says: "It's not about price. We are only asking them to take what other operators have paid. The price is exactly the same. There is no way I could accept a deal that would take Versus away from 6 million viewers," which is what DirecTV has proposed, he says.

Contrary to DirecTV's assertions, Versus' Davis says: "We have received tens of thousands of phone calls in the last 48 hours." Davis also notes that despite claims, the NHL received its best ratings since 2002 for some of its playoff games. Also, Tour de France's viewership doubled this past year from 2008.

Previously, Comcast and the NFL Network were involved in a long-term dispute in which Comcast refused to pay a high subscriber fee for the sports channel -- 70 cents a subscriber -- to place it on its basic cable lineup.

That dispute was settled between the two companies in May of this year, concluding in a 10-year deal in which Comcast pays 40 cents to 45 cents per subscriber, according to executives close to the companies.