I hadn’t really weighed in much about what I think of the whole DirecTV vs. Versus kerfuffle. Since I don’t have DirecTV I’m just an interested observer when it comes to the skirmish. I can’t lie, I did find the war of the words amusing.
I don’t really have much of an opinion on which side is right and which is wrong. Did the Comcast-owned Versus make unreasonable demands when it comes to carriage? Is DirecTV merely being cheap, or is it a financially prudent decision for them?
These questions perhaps do have real answers, but miss the point of what’s actually going on. It’s not about right or wrong from the perspective of Versus and DirecTV (though understandably, it may be for DirecTV customers who enjoy Versus), it’s about negotiations and leverage. The important question was: who has the most leverage?
That question was probably answerable a month ago, but let there be no doubt now. The answer is: it’s DirecTV.
It could just be a perception is reality thing, but DirecTV isn’t expecting any mass exodus over this from its subscribers. Months ago now, when Viacom was in a similar skirmish with its networks for carriage on Time Warner Cable, Viacom ran crawlers on its shows like “You are about to lose SpongeBob!”. SpongeBob and Nickelodeon are big deals when it comes to cable. And though the ratings have languished somewhat over at MTV and VH1, they’re not languishing compared to Versus.
For the week ending August 23, when it came to average viewers for the full day, the Viacom owned Nickelodeon was the #1 network, MTV was #29, VH1 was #36, and Versus was #60 out of all the basic cable networks. So, Viacom and SpongeBob have a lot of leverage.
Versus doesn’t.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t wind up being an awful lot of DirecTV subscribers who will be upset. But Versus didn’t have the leverage it needed, so the real negotiations begin now. Again, I expect it to get resolved within 30 days.
Update: 10:20PM, PDT from DirecTV’s Twitter, the war of the words continues:
Agree. These negotiations are all about having programming – even just one show – that some people can’t live without.
On an average ratings basis I’m sure there are a ton of channels that have a higher average than AMC, but as long as AMC has Mad Men they’ll have disproportionate leverage.
What does Versus have that people can’t live without? Nothing. Even if you’re a gigantic NHL fan you can more than get by with your regional sports network’s games.
This is just one more reason why the NHL should do whatever it takes to get back on ESPN.
My family are all big hockey fans, and they all have DirecTV. I foresee them switching to ComCast now.
I have DirecTv TV and am a huge hockey fan. I watch my local team, Panthers on the local FSN channel and have NHL Network and NHL Center Ice. Versus won’t be missed, most of their games I don’t watch except for the playoffs. I also watch mostly HD and find DircTV’s HD better than Comcast. My parents have Comcast and I don’t like HD channels hidden in some other numbers and I don’t like their quality and lack of the better hd networks like MGMHD and HDNET. Bye bye Versus it was nice knowing you.
What’s everybody’s must-have cable shows or networks? What show would force you to change service if they no longer carried it?
Versus does have some hand-me-down college football programming from Fox Sports Net. What did the final game of the Stanley Cup get? 3.0 rating on a network? If the best Versus can offer is hockey, it’s got nothing.
Versus does have a monopoly on one thing: coverage of the Tour de France and other pro bicycling events. Sure, no Tour until next July, and cycling isn’t a big spectator sport in the US. But those who love it, really love it . . . and Versus’ coverage is the only place to see it in the US.
Versus (and the previous version of the channel, OLN) was one of the big reasons I liked the DirecTV lineup. Without it, the differences between DirecTV and Dish aren’t quite so big as to justify the difference. We’ll see if Versus and DirecTV come to terms . . . if not . . .
My wife is a big PBR bullriding fan, and their events are exclusive to Versus. She is understandably upset. DishNetwork still carries Versus, but when their contract expires they will probably be in the same situation as DirecTV. We can certainly live without Versus and now would not switch to cable, even if it were available in our area (which it is not).