Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are still on vacation but Viacom corporate is channeling their spirits as part of an effort to communicate with frustrated DirecTV subscribers who can’t get their favorite shows. The inability of the programmer and the satellite operator to agree on a new contract has left viewers in the dark since just before midnight Tuesday while Viacom’s decision to keep current or new shows off its own sites only adds to the frustration. Talks picked up again Wednesday — and, according to Viacom, are ongoing — but with no visible signs of progress.
In the meantime, both sides are using everything they can to get their views across. Friday’s favorite so far — this interchange on Twitter:
We can’t believe it’s now Day 4 – directvpromise.com #DIRECTVHasMyBack
— DIRECTV (@DIRECTV) July 13, 2012
It’s actually Day 3. More fuzzy numbers from DirecTV! RT @DIRECTV: We can’t believe it’s now Day 4
— Viacom (@Viacom) July 13, 2012
Followed by:
Like an old married couple RT @Viacom: It’s actually Day 3. More fuzzy numbers from DirecTV! RT @DIRECTV: We can’t believe it’s now Day 4
— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) July 13, 2012
And the quick retort:
@AntDeRosa we can’t wait for the make-up sex! @DIRECTV
— Viacom (@Viacom) July 13, 2012
DirecTV is winning on one front: @DirecTV has more than 66,000 followers while Viacom has just under 8,000 for its corpcom group account. But that’s just the corporate message — Viacom has network accounts and numerous celebs on Twitter as well.
More to come.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in Q1
- Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content
- Connected Consumer 2012: A year of consolidation and integration
