Directv, Viacom | featured news

After a nine-day blackout that denied subscribers access to Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and other channels, the two companies reach agreement on a new long-term deal.

As the dispute between Viacom and DirecTV continued Wednesday, the conglomerate yanked access to some of its more popular programming that was available free on company websites. Fans can no longer watch full episodes of shows like "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "iCarly" or "Jersey Shore" and "The Daily Show," which is sure to further anger the 20 million DirecTV subscribers who continue to find a dark screen when they change the channel to Viacom-owned nets like Nick, MTV, Comedy Central and VH1.

Viacom Inc. said an impasse in contract talks with DirecTV is costing almost 20 million subscribers access to 26 channels, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. DirecTV dropped the channels late Tuesday when two sides couldn’t reach a new fee agreement, New York-based Viacom said in a blog post. There was no word on whether the companies would continue negotiating. “We are hopeful that DirecTV will work with us toward a resolution, and stop denying its subscribers access to the networks they watch most,” Viacom said.