DirecTV, Viacom Reach Deal 

The 20 million DirecTV customers who were pining for a glimpse of reality TV for more than a week are in luck, now that the cable provider and Viacom have settled their differences. Viacom, the company behind VH1, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, has marked an agreement with DirecTV after a week of deliberation that left customers without their beloved “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta,” the always informative “Snooki & J Woww” and the classic cartoon, “Spongebob Squarepants.”

Early Friday, Viacom and DirecTV announced that a deal had been reached. Before that however, the Wall Street Journal reported that DirecTV accused the media company of asking for a 30 percent increase in fees, an increase they obviously weren’t interested in granting. Viacom, however, reported that it was just “looking for a fair deal.” So how “fair” was the deal both parties agreed upon? That remains as of yet unseen now that both companies have declined to release details of their financial arrangement. Viacom released this statement; “Viacom is extremely pleased to bring its programming back to DirecTV subscribers, and thanks everyone affected by the disruption for their patience and understanding during this challenging period,” it read.

The company has since restored all 17 of its cable networks. –danielle canada