POLL: DirecTV Customers Lose MTV, Nick As Battle Continues With Viacom

DirecTV subscribers have taken their woes to the web in the wake of a dispute with Viacom leading to nearly 20 million customers losing access to the mass-media company's 26 channels.

Channels including Nickelodeon, Vh1, MTV, Spike, BET and Comedy Central are among those that blacked out just before midnight on Tuesday. Viewers flipping to those channels were met with this message: “Viacom, the owner of this channel, forced DirecTV to suspend it despite our many requests to keep it on. We are working to bring it back as soon as possible without an unfair increase to your bill. Disruptions like this are brief. Go to DirecTVPromise.com for the latest info.”

The battle started when Viacom demanded an increase in what DirecTV pays to broadcast its channels. The suggested 30 percent hike didn't go over too well, so DirecTV stopped transmitting those channels.

According to CNN, those complaining included the famous:

"When my son can't watch 'The Backyardigans' tomorrow he might call DirecTV himself," Atlanta Falcons All-Pro cornerback Brent Grimes posted on Twitter.

As well as the less famous:

"If you got DirecTV I feel bad for you son, I got 999 channels and you just lost some!" tweeted user "Ezel From Friday" in a nod to Jay-Z's famous song, "99 Problems."

Later Wednesday, the drama was ramped up as Viacom yanked access to some of its popular online programming available free on company websites. "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "Jersey Shore" fans are out of luck for now.

However, a Viacom spokesman said it is still offering lots of free episodes online and that some programs were removed because they were only meant as a marketing tool.