Eric Prindle punching Abe Wagner

By FCF Staff

After failing to come to an agreement on programming fees, as of midnight last night, DirecTV subscribers can no longer watch Viacom owned channels like MTV, Nickelodeon and SPIKE.

According to DirecTV, Viacom is seeking a 30 percent raise for its programming, after its seven year broadcasting deal with the satellite service recently expired.

According to a report from CBS, DirecTV currently has 20 million subscribers.

While it remains to be seen whether the dispute will be resolved, DirecTV subscribers who are MMA fans should be concerned. Viacom is the majority owner of Bellator, which currently airs on MTV2 and is set to move to SPIKE TV in 2013.

If Viacom is unable to come to terms with DirecTV, it could  help entrench the growing Asian promotion ONE FC as the world’s second largest MMA promotion. ONE FC recently signed a ten year long broadcasting deal with ESPN STAR, amongst several other new agreements, including a sponsorship deal with Chevrolet.

Since Viacom acquired Bellator, the American based promotion has take several steps to increase its profile, including the aforementioned  deal with SPIKE, signing former Strikeforce champion “King Mo” Lawal and releasing its fist video game, “MMA Onslaught.”

Bellator’s next event is scheduled for July 20th.