Consumer Biz Review: DirectTV Goes BLANK, Starbucks’ Has CHEMISTRY

Here’s your cheat sheet to Wednesday’s hottest consumer stories:

Nearly 20 million of DirecTV’s (NASDAQ:DTV) subscribers lost access on Tuesday night to some 17 Viacom (NYSE:VIA) networks, among which included Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, following the satellite broadcaster’s dropping of the channels, as was anticipated. The inability of the two firms to reach a new deal over carriage fees was the culprit, and this dispute follows a another one between Dish and AMC Networks in June.

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Canada continues to be the hoped-for solution to U.S. superstores’ woes, as Best Buy’s (NYSE:BBY) strategy there is to introduce smaller stores and launch into non-core categories online, in addition to the intro of a new price-matching program. BBY will open stores in that country with closer links to its website and will also shrink the sizes to more like 5,000 square feet, rather than the typical 25,000 to 36,000 square foot monsters in currently in play.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) introduces a new energy drink across the U.S. which combines green coffee extract and natural fruit juice, as it seeks to increase afternoon traffic in its stores. The firm’s latest presentation enters the energy drink market at the same time that a greater emphasis on beverage calorie count emerges.

Shares of VeriFone (NYSE:PAY) hit the heights on word that the company wins a contract to become the exclusive vendor in the Washington DC area for its in-taxi payment system. This arrangement adds advertising revenue potential besides the sale of the product itself.

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