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Don’t Mess With TV’s Influencer Network: Watch Viacom’s Stars Call Out DIRECTV

Mike Gasbara

TV has a youth problem. And DIRECTV is about to make it worse.By now you’ve seen AT&T's DIRECTV -- one of the largest pay TV providers in the U.S. with 24.5 million subscribers -- is currently disputing fees with millennial-centric network Viacom.This means customers are about to lose access to 23 channels including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And with their current contract set to expire this Friday at midnight, Viacom knows the dirty word MVPDs spend millions fighting: CHURN.In a page from a playbook it's used before, Viacom is pulling out all the stops to move negotiations along; asking fans to reach out to AT&T, posting updates on their website www.keepviacom.com, and most importantly, leveraging their network of celebrities like Trevor Noah, Vinny and Pauly D from Jersey Shore, and DJ Khaled for an entertaining PSA campaign.Whether the multi-faceted educational campaign will have an effect on the conversations remains to be seen, but the last thing cable companies want in this delicate relationship with youngish households is controversy. The story is still developing, but in the meantime here are all of the PSAs we rounded up from Viacom: