Nickelodeon, VH1, MTV, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, NOT on your TV now?

If you're a DirecTV subscriber and weren't able to watch Nickelodeon, VH1, MTV, Comedy Central, and other Viacom channel over the weekend...or if you're a Dish Network customer and are still missing Mad Men, Breaking Bad and other shows from the AMC network, here's why: neither satellite service has settled their differences with the programming providers. It's a sign of the economic times. While Viacom, AMC, and other programmers have continued to hold steady or even show slight financial gains over the past few years...things have gotten tough for DirecTV, Dish Network and other service providers. There aren't many new homes being added to the satellite/cable networks. Some 101 million American homes subscribe to cable or satellite services. That's about 87% of homes, a percentage that has remained unchanged since 2009. Programmers pay media companies (such as DirecTV & Dish Network) a few cents per channel per subscriber each month. In turn those services try to sell packages of channels to consumers for a profit. But while costs for those channels rise, so do monthly service bills, but not enough to offset the difference. As a result, some companies are struggling. Currently DirecTV and DishNetwork make about 19 cents profit out of every $1 they charge you. That has flatlined, they know that you won't pay any more, so their only option is to have these hardball negotiations with the program providers and their best bargaining chip is to take them off the air. So that's the dollars and cents reason why some of your favorite channels may be going dark. It's something you may see more of, as the economy struggles.

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If this economy has you in a difficult financial situation, there may be legal remedies for your problems. Contact us for a free consultation at (731) 423-1888.

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