Viacom’s $5 Billion DirecTV Deal Keeps the Bundle Intact for Seven More Years

Remember when the DirecTV-Viacom standoff was going to be the first step of the beginning of the end of TV? Or at least the end of the bundle? Turns out you’re going to have to keep waiting for that. For a long time.

DirecTV agreed to pay more for the programming, and will pass those fees on to its customers. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman will get more than $600 million for his shows this year. And because those fees will escalate over the course of a seven-year contract, that means the overall deal will be worth more than $5 billion. Which is why the company was perfectly content to take an estimated $14 million hit a week while its shows were off the air. DirecTV can also claim victory, because it’s paying less than Viacom asked for originally. And Wall Street seems just fine with it for both companies, because the prices of their shares are basically flat.