I have DirecTv and we lost Versus last fall.
As television technology and the web begin to merge I am hoping for the day we can buy a-la-carte channels and have them streamed to our televisions. That way you can only buy the channels you want without having to buy packages that have 30 channels you like and 130 you will never watch. At that point we don't really need cable providers. We can buy Versus right from Versus, Fox right from Fox, History Channel, ESPN, (fill in channel you like here) directly from the channel owners themselves.
I think it is still a bit off because the cable owners will fight it but it is in our, the customers, best interest to at least have that as an option. I'm sure there will be many people who still get the channels from their provider, but there will also be many (like me) that cut the cord to them and just get the channels I want.
Getting back to Versus. If they don't end up back on DirecTv I already know of "alternative" ways of getting the events so in the end they are forcing me to turn to piracy. I am not going to miss the events I want to watch just because my provider doesn't want to give me the channel. I will go get it myself. If all of a sudden Food Network was taken off my TV I would be downloading the torrent of Good Eats the night it comes on. They would only have themselves to blame as I would be willing to watch it over their airwaves if they let me.