Update as of midnight, Versus went dark on DirecTV. More thinking on this topic.
Duhn duhn DUHNNN. And that’s meant to be suspenseful music rather than sound like “done, done, done” because so far it appears no deal between DirecTV and Versus has been worked out to continue carriage of Versus on DirecTV.
Today, August 31 is the deadline. My sense is they will get it figured out by midnight. I’m not a DirecTV subscriber anymore, but I know from other posts we’ve done on this topic, there are at least a few DirecTV subscribers who really care about Versus.
As of 10:30AM PDT, I’ve seen no updates and DirecTV is still running the following blurb on the news page of its web site:
Update: 8pm PDT. Still no updates, though the battle of words on the Internet persists. The above image remains on DirecTV’s site and on Versus there is a link from a small graphic on Versus home page that links to a huge graphic that proclaims: You are about to Lose Versus on DirecTV and goes on to add:
THEY ARE TAKING AWAY YOUR RIGHT TO IN-DEPTH COVERAGE OF THE SPORTS YOU LOVE… THE NHL, INDY CAR, WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING, PBR WORLD FINALS, THE TOUR DE FRANCE AND TOP RANKED COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES INCLUDING #2 TEXAS AT WYOMING
AND #19 FLORIDA STATE AT #24 BYU.
CLICK HERE NOW TO KEEP VERSUS ON YOUR CHANNEL LINE-UP.
If you click the above link you are encouraged to
“ENTER YOUR INFORMATION BELOW TO SEND AN EMAIL TO DIRECTV DEMANDING THEY KEEP VERSUS.”
I do! At least to watch the Tour de France and other bicycling. What a shame.
By watching the crawls on Sunday, it kind of looks ugly. At the start of the college footbal season too. Granted by my tastes, I will miss some Mountain West games but I mainly watch Big Ten/Iowa and SEC on the other networks. Sounds like the cable networks better pay attention. Especially ESPN and their networks?
This reminds me of the TV station I work for and our signal taken off Dish at one time and some local cable systems because our owners were doing the same thing.
I honestly thought Versus was owned by CBS/Westinghouse until this weekend.
Comcast is ticking off everyone, first NBC and the IOC now Direct TV, what’s next?
WEC is big for VS.
MMA is the hot thing and to not have that would hurt.
With the NHL season about a month away and it showing some growth last year, Versus has to be pretty motivated to ensure carriage on DirecTV and get a deal done.
BTW, you need to emphasize the last “duhn” for maximum suspenseful music i.e. duhn-duhn-DUHNNN!
I sometimes get a laugh out of the language that’s used in carraige disputes.
Is a single person anywhere persuaded by DirecTV’s use of the term “unreasonable demands” in characterizing the negotiations?
Do they think that someone sitting at home sees that and says “Damn that unreasonable Versus! Why can’t they be reasonable like the good, level-headed people at DirecTV?”
As a recent convert to DirecTV, truly the only thing I don’t like about the product is the way they use channel capacity to lobby against satellite taxes. Even if they’re right I don’t want to see it. DirecTV, keep your corporate shilling to the boardroom!
They provided good coverage of the track & field.
you said VERUS in the first paragraph fyi
I said both Versus AND Verus. My typing isn’t consistent, and probably never will be. Fixed!
no worries
i appreciate what u do here on the site
i used to put duhn duhn duhn! on short stories we had to write when i was in like 3rd 4th grade and my teachers never got it
Versus is now off DirecTv. I am cancelling DirecTv. I will go to Dish…NOT Comcast.
I have DirecTV and watch mainly NHL but I never watch Versus because I have the NHL network, my local team on FOX Sports Florida and buy the NHL CenterIce package. Versus usually has games I don’t care about. I wouldn’t care if they never put them back on. I dropped to the lower tier that doesn’t have Versus to save money. A couple games a week of teams I don’t care about. Don’t need Versus.
Comcast is mad at DirecTV because DirecTV is killing them. If you are a sports fan you just can’t beat DirecTV. They may not be the cheapest but the quality and content is unmatched. That being said I do want VS back for the Indy Car racing. Dish Network and Comcast are losing thousands of customers every week. This past year Comcast is now forcing new subs to sign a contract. I’m guessing Comcast will soon be lowering the cost of VS to DirecTV.
I watch Versus for Indycar racing (IRL). I won’t go to Dish (I’ve been with DirecTV for 16 years) because they don’t have Turner Classic Movie channel (no commercials, great old films). I’ll watch the races on the ‘net and hope it comes back. Rumors from Indianapolis say that it will all be worked out within a few days (its Sept. 2 today). Only two races to go in the season. I can wait till next year to decide what to do. I don’t like hunting shows and Versus has too much of that stuff. But their Indycar coverage has been far superior to ESPN/ABC.
anson, unless you get the canada networks, what are you going to do during the playoffs? Where almost all the games from the 2nd round on are on versus.
I just want it back by Sept 12th when the Longhorns are scheduled to beat Wyoming.
All of you that drop Diretv just to be able to see your PBR or whatever should realize that you have ENCOURAGED and ENABLED Versus to charge YOU whatever they want. Their justifications for the rate they demanded of Diretv were ludicrous. Every Versus viewer KNOWS their viewership was sporadic. They gave DishNetwork a cheap rate and then expected their cash cow (Diretv) to pay for the difference. Versus actions seem more like extortion than negotiation to me. All of you that moved to DishNetwork and Comcast enjoy it while it lasts because the next time Versus will EXPECT you to pay their unreasonable fees.
I’m a longhorn fan living in florida. The only way I can watch the game on 9/12 is on versus. I don’t really care about these negotiations and feel like I’m being cheated. I pay for versus so I want versus.