AT&T, Viacom Sign New Carriage Agreement

DirecTV and Viacom signed a new carriage agreement with continued carriage of the programmer's content across AT&T platforms and products, AT&T emailed us Monday. It said the deal "brings AT&T customers more choice and improved value for Viacom content" and details will be forthcoming. Viacom's keepviacom.com about the possibility of a blackout no longer existed Monday. In a note to investors, MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said that with the AT&T talks complete, the Viacom and CBS boards likely will renew talks about combining. He said operating separately "makes zero sense" and CBS stock is trading "in nearly linked step with Viacom," indicating most investors believe a combination is a fait accompli. Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche emailed investors Monday that a big question mark is how the Viacom contract is structured for when AT&T launches a streaming service offer in Q4.