Viacom, DirecTV ink carriage agreement

Viacom and US satellite TV provider DirecTV have signed a new long term carriage agreement.

The deal covers the CBS and UPN broadcast networks, CBS and UPN owned-and-operated local stations, and the MTV Networks bouquet including Spike, Comedy Central, Logo and Nickelodeon.

Under the terms of the agreement, DirecTV will also have the rights to launch CBS HD "Local into Local," whereby the HD signals of local CBS owned-and-operated stations will be available via digital satellite.

"We are thrilled once again to partner with DirecTV and continue to deliver their customers the incredible quality and diversity they expect from MTV Networks channels," said Nicole Browning, president of affiliate sales and marketing at MTV Networks.

"This broad-based agreement assures that CBS and UPN viewers in our O&O markets will continue to enjoy access to the programming they value from both networks via DirecTV," said Martin D. Franks, executive VP at CBS.