I assume that anyone who watched Friday's Tour of Ireland stage also noticed the repeated crawl where DirecTV is warning (threatening?) subscribers that they'll drop Versus after 31 August if contract negotiations don't improve. I assume this is the usual "get the subscribers panicking and writing emails to Versus" to put pressure on, like some of the bigger cable companies are known to do.

I find it annoying.

Well, I was all ready to switch from cable to DirecTV this year before I found out that they didn't have Universal Sports (they aired the Giro and will be covering the Vuelta as well). So I decided to hold off. This makes that decision even easier now.

Ye, they did this with some of the big channels with my cable company. They did it with Spike, mTv, Vh1 and some other channels.

Actually, the crawl is from Versus, not DirecTV.

Apparently DirecTV is not willing to pay market price for VS. I called DTV and told them that if they dropped VS, I would probably drop my DTV subscription.

Adios Directv, hello cable....

There you have it, all DTV people should write in and threaten to cancel their service if they drop VS. I really like DTV though, and TIVO. I don't think I could give up TIVO.

they better not drop it.

This is the email reply from DTV

""
Dear Mr

Thanks for writing. We recognize you as a valued and loyal customer and we want you to know we appreciate it.

Our agreement with Versus expires on August 31, 2009. We are working hard to reach an agreement to keep Versus on the air. If we are unable to reach an agreement and must take Versus off the air, we will communicate with you via on-air slides or messaging.

We understand how important Versus is to you. It's equally important to us to keep your monthly fees low, so we're doing everything we can to avoid paying exorbitant programming fees. We feel that the terms Versus is asking for from us do not reflect the market or what they are asking of other distributors.

If we are unable to reach an agreement by August 31, we will continue to negotiate with Versus, however, it's unlikely that we'll be able to keep Versus on the air during negotiations. In the meantime, you'll still be able to watch college football on Big Ten Network, the MTN., ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN GamePlan, local channels and your Regional Sports Network (RSN). NHL games are available on NHL Network, NHL Center Ice, and your RSN. MMA is available on HDNet and Spike TV, IRL on ABC, and Professional Bull Riding on ESPN2.

Thanks again for writing and stay tuned to directv.com for the latest news and information

Sincerely,

The only reason I've been keeping Direct TV was that they had VS.

So, who carries OLN these days??

Versus is on Dish Network channel 151

https://www.dishnetwork.com/packages/...?channel=50357

Im sure Vs. feels they have a lot of negotiating power after the recent tours numbers. On my dish I had to upgrade to the highest tier (extra $20/month) to watch the tour.

Thanks for the information regarding Dish Network - out where I live, satellite TV is the only option.

If DTV drops Versus I will drop DTV. After the NCAA football season of course.

Not sure about broadcasts where you live, but Universal Sports is broadcast as the 3rd subchannel off the local NBC digital broadcast here in the DC area-seems you could get Universal over the air.

Tivo Series 3 + cable cards = great success!

Noticing Universal has the World Championships, the Vuelta, and stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri.

Versus is broadcasting stages 2-8 of the Tour of Missouri- and only half an hour on each stage, no Vuelta as earlier advertised.

Is Universal going to displace Versus as the US network cover the Tour next year?

OLN changed their name to Versus

AT&T Uverse also carries Versus-HD

This may explain the problem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versus_%28TV_channel%29

I did not know that Versus is owned by Comcast

Sounds like Professional Bull Sh*ting!

According to Variety, all they are asking is the same as everyone else pays them (standard rates).

As far as I'm concerned, if they charge for advertising, then they should be FREE. The local cable company can charge some federally regulated local distribution charge of, say, $10, regardless of the number of channels. If a channel wants to charge a subscription fee, it should be required to be 100% commercial free by federal law.

Well it's off the air now.

I sent off an e-mail asking simply what the probability was that it would be returning in the next few months.

I don't know if they're really negotiating in good faith or if they've just given up and want us to think it might come back so we don't switch providers.

I don't care who's the good guy or bad guy in the talks, I want to see Lombardia so if it's not done in a couple weeks I'm going to one of the other providers. Pisses me off that the other companies package it with premium sports channels though because I'll never watch them.

edit - got a canned response but it does say they are continuing negotiations. I'll give them until Sept 25 and by then I'll have decided which other provider makes the most sense.

Well, this sounds permanent.

As previously mentioned, our agreement with Versus expired on August 31, 2009. DIRECTV
made every effort to keep VERSUS a part of its programming line-up, but due to
unsuccessful contract negotiations with Comcast, the owner of Versus, the channel has
been removed. We understand how important Versus is to you and we are sorry that we have
had to remove it from our lineup and we're unable to add it back.

Dear Direct TV,

Please understand how important Versus is to me and I'm sorry that I have
to remove you from my line up and I'm unable to add you back.

PS. I'll be going to Comcast since they own Versus.