Directv

Just in time for the NHL's push to the playoffs as well as the IndyCar racing and cycling season, Versus and DirecTV have settled their six-month dispute. Versus was back on DirecTV on Monday afternoon on the same tier of programming it had been before the contract ended at midnight Aug. 31. According to a statement, Jamie Davis, president of Versus, said, "We're excited we were able to come to a fair agreement that puts Versus back in millions of homes with DirecTV in time for a busy spring programming schedule."

Tribune Co. television stations, including KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles, are coming back to satellite broadcaster DirecTV. After a very public feud, DirecTV reached a five-year agreement late Wednesday to pay Tribune to carry its 23 local television stations around the country and its national cable channel WGN America. With more than 19 million subscribers, DirecTV is the second-largest pay-TV operator, behind Comcast Corp. It has a market share of around 20% in Los Angeles.

Versus, which carries sports programming as varied as the Tour de France, college football, IRL auto racing and the majority of regular-season national NHL games, went dark on DirecTV after not reaching a new contract deal Monday. At 9:01 p.m. PDT, the Versus channel on DirecTV went to a blue screen with the message, "Versus is no longer available on this channel. Comcast, which owns Versus, has forced us to take down the channel because we will not submit to their unfair and outrageous demands."

Satellite broadcaster DirecTV is taking its fight against Tribune Co. to the government. In a complaint filed Monday with the Federal Communications Commission, DirecTV accused Tribune of reneging on a deal that would have kept Tribune's television stations on the satellite service. The filing also said that the bankrupt Tribune's creditors, and not its management, are calling the shots for the stations, even though they do not yet hold the actual licenses. "In another case of runaway Wall Street greed, some of America's wealthiest hedge funds and investment banks, including Oaktree Partners, Angelo Gordon, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citibank, forced Tribune's senior management to renege on an agreement that would have kept DirecTV customers connected to their local programming," DirecTV said in a statement.

For the last couple of days, DirecTV satellite television subscribers have been seeing a crawl if they've watched any Versus network programming telling them that as of Aug. 31, DirecTV will no longer carry Versus. For college football and NHL fans who get their television through DirecTV, this could be bad news. Five Pacific 10 Conference games (as yet undetermined) as well as an assortment of Big 12 and Mountain West games, and an NHL package of 54 games could become unavailable to DirecTV subscribers just when those seasons start.

After feuding between studios and movie theaters over earlier availability of movies to the home, DirecTV Inc. is ready to "Just Go With It. " The El Segundo satellite television provider will launch so-called premium video on demand Thursday with the Adam Sandler comedy — just 69 days after the film opened in theaters. Consumers will have to pay $29.99 for a two-day rental of the Sony Pictures movie. That's the first time a major studio movie has been available on television sets that soon after playing in theaters and at that high a price.

DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite TV provider, reported a 16% increase in fourth-quarter profit as customer gains in Latin America climbed to a record. Net income rose to $718 million, or $1.02 a share, from $618 million, or 74 cents, a year earlier, the El Segundo company said Thursday. Analysts predicted a profit of 92 cents a share in a Bloomberg survey. The company also said it plans to start a $6-billion share-buyback program. DirecTV gained 590,000 customers in Latin America, topping the record 574,000 achieved in the previous quarter as it added services to challenge pay TV rivals.

News Corp. has struck a new deal to that will keep its powerful cable and broadcast channels on satellite broadcaster DirecTV. The two sides had been feuding over a new contract, and DirecTV, which has more than 19 million subscribers, was set to drop more than two dozen News Corp.-owned Fox cable networks Tuesday. Channels that are part of the agreement include the popular FX network and Los Angeles regional sports outlets Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West. Monday's accord not only consists of Fox's cable channels but also the local television stations that carry the programming of the Fox Broadcasting Co., including National Football League games and the popular comedies "Glee" and "New Girl.

Tribune Co., owner of 16 television stations across the country including KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, is threatening to pull its channels from satellite broadcaster DirecTV. At issue are fees that Tribune, which is also the parent company of the Los Angeles Times, wants DirecTV to pay in return for carrying its local stations. Such fees are known in the television industry as retransmission consent agreements. As broadcasters have faced greater competition for advertising revenue from cable television, most have sought to establish a second revenue stream through retransmission consent fees.

Tribune Co. television stations, including KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles, are coming back to satellite broadcaster DirecTV. After a very public feud, DirecTV reached a five-year agreement late Wednesday to pay Tribune to carry its 23 local television stations around the country and its national cable channel WGN America. With more than 19 million subscribers, DirecTV is the second-largest pay-TV operator, behind Comcast Corp. It has a market share of around 20% in Los Angeles.

Consumers are caught in the middle of a fight between media giants. This time, it's Tribune Co. and satellite broadcaster DirecTV that are squabbling. The debate is over fees that Tribune, the parent of the Los Angeles Times, wants DirecTV to pay to carry its local television stations, including KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles. Early Sunday, Tribune signals around the country started coming off DirecTV's satellite service. The first channels to vanish were WPIX-TV in New York, WPHL-TV in Philadelphia and WDCW-TV in Washington.

Tribune Co., owner of 16 television stations across the country including KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, is threatening to pull its channels from satellite broadcaster DirecTV. At issue are fees that Tribune, which is also the parent company of the Los Angeles Times, wants DirecTV to pay in return for carrying its local stations. Such fees are known in the television industry as retransmission consent agreements. As broadcasters have faced greater competition for advertising revenue from cable television, most have sought to establish a second revenue stream through retransmission consent fees.

DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite TV provider, reported a 16% increase in fourth-quarter profit as customer gains in Latin America climbed to a record. Net income rose to $718 million, or $1.02 a share, from $618 million, or 74 cents, a year earlier, the El Segundo company said Thursday. Analysts predicted a profit of 92 cents a share in a Bloomberg survey. The company also said it plans to start a $6-billion share-buyback program. DirecTV gained 590,000 customers in Latin America, topping the record 574,000 achieved in the previous quarter as it added services to challenge pay TV rivals.

The Times' NFL writer, Sam Farmer, examines this week's matchups. Lines according to Glantz-Culver (O/U = over/under). Last week's record 8-8 (.500); season 154-86 (.642). Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, the record against the spread last week would have been 8-6-2 (.572); season 112-111-17 (.502). New York Jets (8-7) At Miami (5-10) Sunday, 10 a.m. Jets 24, Dolphins 20 TV: Channel 2. DirecTV: 704. Line: Dolphins by 2. O/U: 41. The Jets have won four of their last five at Miami, and they can take advantage of a Dolphins team that probably will be missing offensive left tackle Jake Long.

Victims of identity theft will tell you: The shock of being defrauded isn't the worst part. What really stings is having to spend days or even weeks undoing all the damage. At the very least, you'd think businesses caught up in bogus transactions would be ready and willing to assist in bringing the ID thief to justice. But Blanca Elizabeth Cervantes, 43, of Manhattan Beach found herself on her own after a collection agency said she owed $671.58 for a DirecTV subscription she never ordered at an address she's never visited.

DirecTV Inc. has settled misleading-advertising complaints, agreeing to pay state governments $13.25 million and reimburse customers who claimed the company did not adequately explain price policies. The settlement ended complaints brought by 50 state attorneys general that the satellite television giant, based in El Segundo, lured customers to sign up for service by offering deals without fully explaining the costs of the contract. For example, DirecTV offered a promotional rate of $29.99 a month when the regular charges for service were $53.99 or $63.99 a month.

DirecTV has dusted off all eight episodes of the 9-year-old ABC series "Wonderland" and will begin showing them tonight on its proprietary 101 Network. (It is home also to "Rock and a Hard Place," a quiz show hosted by Meat Loaf, and "The Supreme Court of Comedy," in which real-life disputes are argued by the likes of Jon Lovitz and Tom Arnold.