Posted on 01/25/2023 6:27:46 AM PST by Red Badger
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include comment from a DirecTV spokesperson confirming Newsmax’s end of availability on the satellite TV provider.
DirecTV dropped Newsmax, a conservative-leaning cable news channel, Tuesday night following what the satellite TV provider claimed were failed negotiations regarding fees, a spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“On multiple occasions, we made it clear to Newsmax that we wanted to continue to offer the network, but ultimately Newsmax’s demands for rate increases would have led to significantly higher costs that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base,” a spokesperson for DirecTV told the DCNF.
The satellite TV service dropped One America News Network (OAN) in April 2022, following pressure from liberals, including members of Congress. Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas and 41 other congressional Republicans wrote to DirecTV Friday, urging the company not to drop the network. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Freedom Caucus Challenges DirecTV For Removing One America News Network From Platform)
DirecTV said OANN was dropped following a “routine internal review” by the satellite TV provider, which accounted for 90% of the conservative network’s revenue, according to Reuters.
“On February 22, 2021, Democratic members of the Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to AT&T and DIRECTV encouraging the censorship of conservative television networks One America News Network (OANN), Fox News, and Newsmax,” the Republican representatives said. “Given the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee over your companies’ business interests, it is reasonable to assume you took this letter seriously and complied with these demands.”
The letter noted that DirecTV carried a number of left-leaning networks, including VICE media, and that VICE received higher fees than Newsmax, and warned of oversight hearings should AT&T drop Newsmax.
“Taken together, these two actions lead us to believe that DIRECTV, one of the nation’s largest Multichannel Video Programming Distributors, is actively working to limit conservative viewpoints on its system,” the Republican representatives said.
DirectTV said that the dispute with Newsmax centered over the payment of fees to the network by the satellite TV provider, according to Broadcasting and Cable, claiming that Newsmax did not charge a fee in the past for allowing DirecTV to carry the network.
“Anyone, including our customers, can watch the network for free via NewsmaxTV.com, YouTube.com and on multiple streaming platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Google Play,” a DirecTV spokesperson told the DCNF. “We continually evaluate the most relevant programming to provide our customers and expect to fill this available channel with new content.”
First OAN, now this.......FOX is next......................
DUMP DIRECTV! DUMP DISH!
Cause for celebration?
Not even any warning??? That’s crappy customer service for sure.
Directv was a good deal until they got in bed with at@t and it was downhill from there.
I kicked directv to the curb last year......woulda been earlier than that if I coulda convinced my wife.
Went with a streaming service and have never looked back.
FUBOTV has Fox and Newsmax.....what they DON’T carry is the Turner network which was a selling point for me......also has many sports channels.
at&t
Never had a dish. Never wanted one. Been in enough sports bars during rain or snow storms to know that I’m not interested
After Newsmax treated Lindell like crap and their endless shilling for Ukraine and the GOPe, Boo freaking Hoo.
We got rid of Directv a couple of months ago after having it for years. They charge too much.
I changed to DISH about one year ago. Direct TV is an unreliable provider. Support sucks and they are definitely WOKE. DISH is an excellent provider.
Big money making moves to deplatform Conservatives again?
Parallel economy is the only way out here.
Satellite signals being susceptible to weather is a major drawback for sure......or obstructions like trees and buildings for that matter.
When I had directv I installed an HD antenna in my attic just for that reason....at least I could get over air channels when the signal went out.
That led me to noticing the over air signal was actually a sharper clearer picture than the expensive directv signal (i suspectthe coax cable was the weak link)......wasn’t long after I took the dish off my roof.
FUBOTV for me after having directv for probably 020 years......cheaper overall and has more channels. ESPN 1 and 2, FS1 and 2, NFL network, fox news and newsmax. OANN has an app.
I left DirecTV also. The trouble with DirecTV and Dish is that the only “packages” you can afford these days are the ones loaded with the crappy and trashy freak show channels that nobody watches.
FUBO...seems I remember that from the dark days of the Obama regime. I wonder what it means?
Ratings and advertising dictate what channels continue. It’d be interesting to know how many watched and how many advertisers they had. That’s the only reason to drop a channel. If they are making money, no way would they drop it.
After Newsmax treated Lindell like crap and their endless shilling for Ukraine and the GOPe, Boo freaking Hoo.
/\
Yup.
I dumped snoozetothemax from my roku channels after 1 week of their RINO crap.
Them and oan are crap.
Real America’s Voice only now.
.
I have both as Streaming channels through my ROKU TV.
I think we pay for OAN a modest amount.
Newsmax is free with commercials.
There is almost no reason to have Dish or Direct TV UNLESS you can not get high speed internet any other way.
A lot of pethink it has something to do with Obama but it doesn’t.
FUBOTV CEO David Gandler is a soccer nut.....it’s short for football.
If they are making money, no way would they drop it.
That sounds logical. Trouble is that liberals usually have no logic, they are agenda driven.
We dropped DirecTV some time back and no, we won’t be going back.
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