Back in February of 2021, Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) called for the removal of NEWSMAX, OANN, and FOX NEWS from cable and streaming platforms. Below is an excerpt of the letter they sent to AT&T and other platforms:
“We are concerned about the role AT&T plays in disseminating misinformation to millions of its U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV subscribers, and we write to you today to request additional information about what actions AT&T is taking to address these issues. Nearly half of Americans get their news primarily from TV. However, not all TV news sources are the same. ..Experts have noted that the right-wing media ecosystem is “much more susceptible…to disinformation, lies, and half-truths.”
And less than a year later, One America News Network was notified by DirecTV that their distribution agreement would not be renewed. Coincidence? Likely not. Of course, that’s what OANN and its supporters have argued but proving that would be very difficult. Fast forward another year and now we have TWO conservative news outlets that have been de-platformed and canceled by AT&T.
According to AT&T, the fourth highest rated cable network in the country was de-platformed simply because they asked AT&T for a nominal fee to air their programs. NEWSMAX was seeking about $1 per cable subscriber — per year! Originally, DirecTV said it would carry NEWSMAX for free but would never pay them a license fee. All other cable news channels get license fees, and most get high fees, despite having low ratings.
For example, the Vice channel gets full carriage and license fees from DirecTV. TPG, the operator and 30 percent owner of DirecTV (and CNN), is a major investor in Vice. Vice has 20 percent of NEWSMAX’S ratings but is currently getting fees comparable to what NEWSMAX is seeking.
CNN gets about $14 a year per subscriber from DirecTV. NEWSMAX is a top 20 Channel on DirecTV, and DirecTV pays cable license fees to all top 75 cable channels — 22 of which are left-leaning news channels with lower ratings.
When NEWSMAX asked DirecTV to treat it like the other channels, they declined and ultimately decided to cancel the network. Christopher Ruddy, CEO of NEWSMAX called DirecTV’s actions “A blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against NEWSMAX.” My radio partner and I had a chance last week to interview Mr. Ruddy on our radio show.
As Mr. Ruddy said in our interview, NEWSMAX is urging all Americans — conservative and liberal — to call AT&T and DirecTV and demand the channel be brought back. DirecTV customers can call them toll-free at 877-763-9762. AT&T customers (cellphones, wireless products, or services) can call toll-free at 888-855-2338. NEWSMAX is also encouraging people to go to iWantNEWSMAX.com. It has all the information to take action, such as calling DirecTV, AT&T, and your Member of Congress to ask when hearings will be held on this matter.
AT&T’s decision to de-platform NEWSMAX is a frightening reminder that there are forces within our government and legacy media that want to silence conservative thought and opinions. Elon Musk releasing internal Twitter documents showing the extent of the censorship is just the tip of the iceberg. I urge everyone reading this to take the steps above to rectify this blatant act of censorship and conservative discrimination.
