(RoyalPatriot.com )- Republican Senators Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Mike Lee wrote to DirecTV to inquire about the company’s decision to remove Newsmax from its channel roster.
According to a report, due to the network’s demand for increased carriage costs, AT&T’s subsidiary decided to drop Newsmax.
The First, a conservative-leaning channel on DirecTV featuring programming presented by right-wing commentators, including Bill O’Reilly, has replaced the network.
The letter asked DirecTV to respond to claims that it subsidizes multiple left-leaning channels, despite its consistently lower ratings than Newsmax.
DirecTV’s general counsel Michael Hartman wrote back to the senators explaining that the company had made a choice based on commercial considerations. Hartman claimed that Newsmax is using its platform to broadcast false and misleading material about its contract dispute to achieve a solely commercial purpose that it has been unable to acquire via talks.
A representative for Newsmax responded negatively to the portrayal of the organization.
According to the statement, Newsmax is the second conservative news station that DirecTV has deplatformed in the last year while continuing to carry several cheaper but more popular leftist news channels.
Furthermore, it informs Newsmax that it is never qualified to receive cable payments. There is evidence of prejudice and bias, and Congress needs to look into it.
According to a report, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy called DirecTV’s actions an overt display of bias and censorship based on political beliefs. AT&T’s DirecTV pays even the most far-left stations, despite their low viewership, yet Newsmax and OAN should be removed from the service.
Due to legislative pressure, Verizon Fios and AT&T DirecTV discontinued OAN services last year. At the time, Democrats Anna Eshoo of California and Jerry McNerney of Illinois were in the majority on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They sent a letter to cable companies asking that Fox News, along with rivals OAN and Newsmax, be removed from their channels.
