AT&T (NYSE: T) and Scripps have proved to be real party-poopers. Instead of getting into a protracted, public and messy fight that keeps pundits and politicians employed churning out statements, the two parties quickly reached agreement and three days after Scripps pulled its HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country from AT&T's U-Verse, it put them back on the air.
The networks in question, of course, weren't as glamorous as Fox Networks and the dispute wasn't as ugly as Cablevision Systems' (NYSE: CVC) knock-down with News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA), but there were three days between Friday and Sunday night when they were off U-Verse as evidence, once again, that even minor program providers will use blackouts as negotiating leverage.
As usual, also, there were no details of what the agreement covered.
For more:
see this news release
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