News Corp. And DirecTV Reach Carriage Deal

Hours before a group of News Corp.-owned networks could have been pulled off DirecTV, the two parties reached a deal avoiding a service interruption for the satellite operator’s millions of customers.

The deal includes DirecTV’s continued carriage of cable networks, as well as Fox-owned local stations around the country. The cable group includes a slew of regional sports networks, plus Fox News Channel, the FX network, the National Geographic Channel and more.

“We both know the past 10 days have been challenging, but we’re pleased that both sides could eventually come together to ensure our viewers continue to enjoy Fox programming,” DirecTV and Fox said in a joint statement as the settlement was announced.

At least some of the cable networks could have gone off DirecTV just after the clock turned into Nov. 1.

As the two sides negotiated, there was some acrimony -- each blamed the other for holding up a deal. DirecTV CEO Mike White appeared in a Web ad over the weekend saying News Corp. wanted to charge DirecTV customers “40% more for the exact same channels you watch today.”

“We believe this price increase is entirely too much.”

Fox countered that DirecTV was pursuing “bad faith tactics over meaningful negotiation.”

 

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