"Viacom is now not only holding DIRECTV customers hostage, but all online viewers as well," the company said in a statement.

Viacom representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

Celebrities were among those voicing their opinions on the battle. Reality TV star Khloé Kardashian tweeted "SpongeBob I will miss you!" while comedian Daniel Tosh sent out this tweet: "thanks everybody and lets all pray this Viacom/directv beef gets squared by next week."

Viacom owns eight of the top 30 cable networks, according to Nomura Securities. Nickelodeon, Viacom's children's programming network, is the country's most-watched cable channel.

This clash is one of several recent battles between pay-TV distributors and programming suppliers.

Earlier this month, Dish Network dropped AMC Networks. Dish reaches about 14 million homes. The standoff remains unresolved.