Monday, August 31, is the deadline for satellite TV provider DIRECTV and IndyCar Series broadcast partner Versus to reach agreement, or the channel faces the prospect of being pulled from DIRECTV's lineup. DIRECTV explains its side of the dispute on its
website:"You may have seen a message on your TV screen saying that you may no longer receive Versus after August 31, 2009. Here's the situation.
"Comcast, the largest cable company in the U.S., owns Versus. They regularly try to charge us amounts well in excess of what is fair and reasonable to carry the programming they own. Their reason is obvious: they want to stifle competition from DIRECTV. Comcast's unfair terms undermines DIRECTV's ability to offer our customers the best possible value. If we simply accept these terms, we would have to absorb the unreasonable costs Comcast wants to charge us, and in turn we will be forced to increase the rates our customers pay. We do not want this to happen. We are currently in contract negotiations and will continue to work with Comcast until the matter is resolved. We hope to keep Versus on the air."