DirecTV, Comcast Reach Agreement To Return Versus To Lineup

Versus Will Air Upcoming Tour De France, Where Armstrong Is Expected To Participate

DirecTV and Comcast have reached an agreement to return Versus to the DirecTV programming lineup. Versus yesterday returned to the same DirecTV programming packages it was on at the end of August '09. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (Versus). In L.A., Diane Pucin cites sources as saying that the "high profile of hockey after the Olympics as well as anticipation for the upcoming cycling season where Versus will televise both the Tour of California and Tour de France where Lance Armstrong is expected to race, played a part in a contract agreement being reached" (L.A. TIMES, 3/16). MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Reynolds noted the pact "comes before Versus drops the puck as the exclusive national cable carrier" of the NHL playoffs, which begin next month, and "as the sport winds down its regular-season and post-season chase." DirecTV had said that Versus "was seeking a major hike in its monthly license fee, while the Comcast-owned network had balked at the DBS operator wanting to drop it to a less penetrated level of service." It is unclear whether DirecTV and Comcast, which "have been at contract loggerheads over each other's regional sports networks," have resolved "some of those issues as part of the Versus settlement" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 3/15). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Nellie Andreeva notes Versus was removed from the DirecTV lineup at midnight on September 1. DirecTV at the time accused Comcast of looking for a 20% fee hike for what it called a "paid programming and infomercial channel with occasional sporting events of interest" and said the demand was "simply piggish." The fee Versus "charged cable operators back then was estimated to be on average 18 cents per subscriber per month" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/16).

DETAILS MAKE NO DIFFERENCE: FANHOUSE.com's Bruce Ciskie wrote people "don't care what the terms of the deal are." Ciskie: "The bottom line is that NHL fans no longer have to wring their hands over the Stanley Cup Playoffs not being available to them, or that they can't watch any games nationally televised by Versus." The deal is also "good for fans" of the Izod IndyCar Series, which "ran for the first time Sunday, but were on Versus and thus not available for many race fans who happen to get DirecTV" (FANHOUSE.com, 3/15). In Denver, Adrian Dater wrote, "Your suffering is over, DirecTV hockey fans" (DENVERPOST.com, 3/15).