Conservative network NEWSMAX has been dropped from DIRECTTV as of 11:50 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
DirecTV confirmed the decision, saying the network is no longer broadcast on DirecTV, DirecTV Stream or U-Verse, with the decision made due to NEWSMAX’s “demands for rate increases.”
The heads of NEWSMAX are firing back at the move, saying it was “censorship” against the network. “This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against NEWSMAX,” Christopher Ruddy, CEO of NEWSMAX, said in a statement.
“The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T’s DirecTV, but NEWSMAX and OANN need to be de-platformed,” Ruddy added.
This comes after Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to the CEO of DirecTV, as well as the CEOs of AT&T and private equity firm TPG Capital, owners of the company, on Jan. 20 expressing concern about the removal of NEWSMAX in light of its decision to remove One America News, another conservative network, from its lineup last year.
“It is our understanding that DirecTV — still majority-owned by AT&T and minority-owned and managed by TPG Capital — is moving to de-platform NEWSMAX by denying it cable fees on a fair and equitable basis,” the letter from the Congress members reads.
The lawmakers alleged that DirecTV carries 11 “liberal” news channels, including Vice Media, a company with which it shares several board members and which the members of Congress allege commands higher fees.
“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. This is extremely concerning for Members of Congress because it suppresses political discourse and hamstrings our ability to connect with our constituents,” the lawmakers said.
