VANCOUVER – A contract dispute between Telus and Viacom means that as of February 28th, Telus Optik TV customers will no longer have access to Spike TV and BET.
Telus has notified customers of this upcoming change via its web site. “As of Feb. 28, 2013, Spike TV on channel 150 and BET on channel 154 will no longer be available on Optik TV. All other channels in the Adventure and Entertainment Extra theme packs remain unchanged,” reads the site.
Telus’ Chris Gerritsen told Cartt.ca that the company’s “contract with the owner of Spike and BET came up for renewal and, unfortunately, we were unable to come to a favourable agreement. We wanted to keep these channels, but did not want to increase rates. Therefore, as of Feb 28, Spike and BET will be unavailable on Optik TV for the foreseeable future.”
When contacted by Cartt.ca, Viacom officials declined to comment on the matter.
BET and Spike have been available to Canadian viewers for many years (anyone remember when Spike was The Nashville Network?) and are carried by most Canadian BDUs. It’s not known at this time if other operators have expiring contracts with the U.S. broadcaster and are considering similar action (but we are making inquiries).
As most readers know, other Viacom brands operating in Canada such as MTV and CMT are not affected as they operate here under license to Canadian broadcasters Bell Media and Corus Entertainment, respectively, who negotiate their own contracts with BDUs.
More to come.
– Greg O'Brien
