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SALT LAKE CITY -- DIRECTV has dropped the Versus channel from all of its carrier packages.
Its contract with Comcast expired August 31 and two sides were unable to reach agreement on a renewal.
That means a number of high profile Mountain West Conference games will be unavailable on television to a large number of Utahns including Florida State at BYU, TCU at BYU, Air Force at Utah and San Diego State at Utah.
DIRECTV said Comcast was demanding renewal terms that did not reflect market value and that Comcast was "demanding carriage terms that were discriminatory."
In a statement DIRECTV says it "simply reached an impasse with Comcast over its Versus channel."
It continued, "In sports, we all expect fair play and a level playing field - a competitor that plays by the rules. Evidently that's not the rule book Comcast plays by. Its unreasonable demands are the economic equivalent of juicing to gain an advantage over its competitors. And our fear is that their egregiously greedy behavior may ultimately kill coverage of your favorite sports on television."
That means a number of high profile Mountain West Conference games will be unavailable on television to a large number of Utahns including Florida State at BYU, TCU at BYU, Air Force at Utah and San Diego State at Utah.
DIRECTV says it will "continue to negotiate in good faith with Versus to try and reach a fair settlement."
