DirecTV has dropped Newsmax, costing the conservative broadcaster a large chunk of its availability after the two sides failed to agree on a new fee structure.
The dispute has nothing to do with politics or ideology.
It’s all about money. Newsmax wanted a fee hike that wasn’t going to happen in the age of cable cutting and the decline in traditional television viewership.
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DirecTV announced after midnight that they were pulling the plug: “We have made it clear to Newsmax on numerous occasions that we wanted to continue offering the network, but ultimately Newsmax’s calls for rate increases would have resulted in significantly higher costs that we would have to share with our broader community.” customer base.”
Newsmax claims they are discriminated against
“This is a flagrant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax,” said Christopher Ruddy, Newsmax CEO.
“The extremely liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get royalties from AT&T’s DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN need to be deplatformed,” Ruddy added.
This is not the same situation as OAN, which was discontinued due to low viewership.
The rate increase, known as the transmission fee, is the monthly price that each cable or satellite subscriber pays for channels, whether they watch them or not.
For example, Fox News has some of the highest haulage rates in all of television. If you hate Fox News but have cable or satellite, pay Rupert Murdoch $2 a month. ESPN gets $7.64 a month from each subscriber, whether they’re watching or not.
These disputes, like the one between DirecTV and Newsmax, are becoming more common. It’s not uncommon for subscribers to tune into a channel to watch one of their favorite shows, only to find that the channel isn’t available because the network wants more money.
Newsmax ranked number 72 by TV viewership in 2022. They average 184,000 viewers per day. The audience doesn’t even make up 10% of Fox News, but since the dispute is about money and not politics, they’ll likely be back at DirecTV at some point when Newsmax backs down on its demand for a fee increase.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
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