Viacom and DirecTV take spat to Twitter while channels stay dark

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:

Followed by:

And the quick retort:

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.

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