Here’s some Viacom news that, for a change, doesn’t involve its battle with Sumner Redstone: The company said today it has renewed and expanded its carriage deal with Cox Communications.
The No. 3 cable provider, which has 6 million residential and commercial customers, has agreed to carry 22 Viacom channels plus Epix, its joint venture with MGM and Lionsgate.
Cox also will offer “an expanded selection” of programs via its on-demand platforms which serve TV and mobile devices.
The companies didn’t disclose financial details.
“Cox has consistently been a leader in offering advanced features and services to their subscribers, and Viacom’s networks are favorites among those audiences who consume programming on digital devices, whenever and wherever they choose,” Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said.
Although the devil’s always in the details, the announcement should reassure investors who feared that large operators might drop Viacom. Some small ones including Suddenlink and Cable One did that and said it improved their profits.
Many of Wall Street’s fears dissipated last month when Dish Network — a famously tough negotiator — renewed its carriage deal with Viacom.
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