A DirecTV satellite dish is attached to a roof at...

A DirecTV satellite dish is attached to a roof at a home in Palo Alto, Calif. (May 6, 2010) Credit: AP

And just like that, Viacom and DirecTV are at each other's throats. In a highly unusual broadside, Viacom sent out a blaring message to the press saying that two dozen networks, from MTV to CMT, will be dropped at midnight Tuesday unless .?.?.

Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman said in a blog on the company website, “Our negotiations have reached an impasse; he added that DirecTV --  during its ongoing carriage fee negotiation -- had offered “a lower rate than Viacom receives from any other distributor in the industry.”

DirecTV says: “You won’t lose them unless Viacom chooses to take them away,“ saying Viacom is looking for a 30 percent boost in fees.

 And so it goes.  

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