Two days after hosting a highly controversial "town hall" interview with former President Donald Trump, CNN saw its primetime ratings drop to historic levels, with the network finishing even behind upstart far-right channel Newsmax. 

CNN averaged only 335,000 viewers from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday vs. 357,000 for Newsmax, according to Nielsen live plus same day data provided by numerous outlets, despite the fact that Newsmax lacks distribution on Frontier Communications and other pay TV platforms. 

Despite the loss of Tucker Carlson, Fox News easily won the evening with a 1.44 million viewer average, followed by MSNBC (1.08 million).

Also read: CNN Averages Only 3.3 Million Viewers for Reputation-Wilting Trump Town Hall

In the adults 25-54 demo, the coin of the realm in Cable Newsland, CNN actually performed better, averaging 87,000 viewers to finish in third place ahead of Newsmax (45,000).

But the total viewer performance highlighted, in a headline-generating way, a sustained ratings slump for CNN, which has pledged to reorient its coverage to what it believes is the political center. 

In March, CNN reported a steep 61% year-over-year total audience dip, suggesting it's not been able to replace viewer defections on the left with new watchers on the right. 

Meanwhile, now more than a year into the reign of Chris Licht, tensions are running high inside the newsroom, with the CNN president reportedly dressing down CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy for his critical coverage of the Trump town hall appearance. 

A Puck report described Darcy as being visibly shaken after the Friday meeting, during which Licht accused the reporter's coverage of being overly emotional. 

Did TMZ just report the next big move for one of the most controversial and influential figures in U.S. politics? Well, given the way things have gone the last seven years, that seems about right. 

The tabloid news org, citing sources close to Newsmax, said the fledgling far-right media company has offered Tucker Carlson control of its flagship cable channel's entire programming slate, should he sign on. 

Newsmax responded Saturday to Next TV's inquiry for comment and confirmation with this statement: “We have not spoken with Tucker Carlson but Newsmax is always open to a conversation with incredible talent, including Tucker.”

Former Fox News heavy hitter Carlson seems to have lapsed into the wrong end of the cost-benefit ratio for Rupert Murdoch and Fox, which fired their biggest, most influential, most polarizing host last Monday following a steady stream of embarrassing leaks, expensive settlements and lost advertisers. 

We heard the news 10 minutes after Carlson supposedly did, according to the Fox narrative. And we immediately wondered if Newsmax founder and CEO Chris Ruddy might make a play for an on-air presence that would undoubtedly bring vast amounts of viewership — and heat — to his relatively tiny conservative media business. 

Say what you will about Carlson — and there’s a lot to say — but that would be a pretty compelling media story. The most polarizing figure in American media today, creating singlehandedly and overnight, the first real, serious threat to Fox News in the realm of right-wing news and propaganda. 

Those of you who followed a few months ago Newsmax’s carriage battle with DirecTV will understand that the channel’s modest economics don't match up with Carlson’s likely salary demands. We've seen per-year compensation figures as low as $8 million for him and as high as over $40 million. Suffice it to say that Newsmax, at its current iteration, probably couldn't afford the $8 million. 

And for his part, Carlson posted a mind-contorting tweet Wednesday night about “truth” in American media that has generated 77.6 million views so far — perhaps proving the tweeter’s whole purpose for the whole strange, opaque five-minute exercise, which seemed to be showing everyone he can generate an audience no matter where he goes. 

Certainly, Carlson has options. According to this Puck News story posted Saturday, he might even have opportunities with Russian state media, which seems to admire his style. 

But as they often say in Port Arthur, Texas, home to the legendary Janis Joplin, and Boca Raton, Florida, birthing ground for cross-platform media companies trying to make a dent in the conservative political media machine, “freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” 

From Glenn Beck to Bill O’Reilly to Megyn Kelly to Carlson, Fox chief Rupert Murdoch is said to be wary of hosts who think they’re bigger than the Fox News brand. But in the case of Carlson — at this strange point of inflection — he just might be. (The New York Times published a compelling column Saturday suggesting why Carlson just might be the first host to actually transcend the Fox News transom at this particularly dangerous moment in the American democratic experiment.)

Indeed, for a media conglomerate that just agreed to pay Dominion Voting a $787.5 million settlement, and still has to litigate against more lawsuits from other voting machine makers, not to mention harassment complaints from former female producers, Carlson might have become an unaffordable liability. 

For the much smaller Newsmax, which is battling for distribution and could be wiped off the Coastal Floridian map by similar pending Category 5 libel lawsuits from the same voting-machine companies, living for today might be a sensible business model, regardless of what kind of liability it’s taking on. 

As for Carlson, who seems to be testing the powers of his own audience spells, he just might be open to being offered Newsmax’s house broom and cauldron.

Notable is the transformational effect a Fox News crisis has on Newsmax, which seems to swing wildly from niche far-right channel, struggling to stay on the pay TV programming grid, to a serious player in the red-meat conservative media space. 

It's eerily reminiscent of those post-January 6 weeks during which Fox vacillated on former President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie“ about the 2020 election, and viewers fled to Newsmax. 

This week, the pendulum once again tilted toward the latter. Without Carlson around at 8 p.m. to stir his magic cauldron of division and resentment, Newsmax host Eric Bolling’s nightly show saw a 264% ratings uptick to 531,000 viewers. 

But Bolling shouldn't get too excited. He could be just keeping the seat warm. 

Less than an hour after Fox agreed to pay a surprisingly huge $787.5 million to settle a libel suit filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems, rival far-right channel Newsmax issued the following declaration:

"Newsmax believes that the facts at issue in Dominion’s case against it are materially different from those that may have driven Fox to settle, and no conclusion about Newsmax should be drawn from that settlement. Newsmax stands by its coverage and analysis of the 2020 election and will continue to vigorously defend against the claim."

Indeed, Tuesday's bombshell settlement announcement is only the first culmination of myriad legal proceedings involving multiple plaintiffs (not only Dominion, but also another voting machine maker, Smartmatic) and three rightwing channels (not just Fox News, but also Newsmax and One America News Network). 

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Dominion and Smartmatic also have sued individuals for falsely claiming the voting machine makers rigged the 2020 presidential election, including attorneys for former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell; MyPillow founder Mike Lindell; and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.

Forbes published an excellent summary on Tuesday, updating the status of each case. 

For its part, Fox  and its nonagenarian chieftain, Rupert Murdoch, aren't out of the woods yet. In March, a New York state judge ruled that Smartmatic's $2.7 billion suit against Fox News, anchor Maria Bartiromo and former anchor Lou Dobbs could move forward, with current Fox anchor Jeanine Pirro dropped from the proceedings. 

Neither Newsmax or OANN have the kind of exposure that comes with Fox News’s huge stature. And evidence is certain to be “materially differentÆ from case to case. So indeed, “conclusions” can't be drawn yet.

But based on the sheer girth of Tuesday’s Fox settlement, it's not unreasonable to ponder the dual lawsuits both Newsmax and OANN still face as being existential threats — particularly with both networks, each armed with vastly fewer resources than Fox, continuing to struggle with distribution issues. 

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis — who oversaw Dominion's just-settled battle with Fox — ruled last June that Dominion’s $1.6 million case against Newsmax can move forward. Likewise, in February, Davis also denied Newsmax's motion to dismiss Smartmatic's libel case against it. 

Among its many claims, Smartmatic said it was falsely accused of having close ties to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other dictators.

“Newsmax either knew its statements regarding Smartmatic’s role in the election fraud narrative were false, or at least it had a high degree of awareness that they were probably false,” Davis wrote in a 34-page ruling.

As for OANN, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled in November that Dominion’s lawsuit against it can move forward. Nichols also ruled in June that Smartmatic’s libel case against OANN can proceed. 

Frontier Communications has become the latest pay TV operator to drop/lose carriage of far-right channel Newsmax TV. 

"Our contract with Newsmax TV expired and we made the business decision not to renew our agreement," Frontier said in a statement on its website. 

The telecom, which reported 306,000 remaining TV/video customers at the end of 2022, also said that it has stopped carrying Fuse Media channels Fuse and FM. 

Also read: The Future of the Internet-TV Bundle? Frontier Integrates YouTube TV Into a Single Unified Bill

“Since we began renewals last year, 99% of our operators have renewed, representing about 98% of our subscribers,” reads a Newsmax statement. “Frontier’s decision was clearly political, because they will lose far more money in cancellations and lost business without Newsmax.“ 

The channel’s comments jibe with rhetoric used in a much higher-profile two-month carriage dispute with DirecTV, which was just resolved two weeks ago. 

Just as DirecTV did last year, Norwalk, Connecticut-based Frontier, a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq, also recently dropped carriage of another far-right channel, One America News. 

In its dispute with DirecTV, Newsmax was able to tap into the outrage of House Republicans, many of whom called for investigations of the satellite TV company over alleged political bias and the “silencing of conservative voices.” 

Newsmax also flooded its on-air and digital news channels with negative DirecTV press.

Newsmax returned to DirecTV’s program guide, but without securing its core demand, sources familiar with the negotiation told Next TV. Newsmax, which had previously been carried by DirecTV under advertising revenue share terms, had been seeking a license fee of $1 per DirecTV subscriber per year.

Newsmax disputes this assertion, telling Next TV that its DirecTV deal is “consistent in terms of licensing fees with all other agreements we have secured over the past 15 months.”

In any event, given that Frontier's pay TV heft doesn’t come close to DirecTV's 13.1 million subscribers, don't expect this latest garden-variety carriage dispute to rise to a similar level of prominence and acrimony. 

Following one of the louder pay TV carriage disputes in recent memory, Newsmax is set to return to DirecTV’s linear and streaming platforms Thursday, seemingly without getting a core demand that the far-right channel fought ruthlessly for nearly two months to secure.

In announcing the multi-year carriage deal, DirecTV said Newsmax will return to DirecTV satellite TV and Stream (channel 349) and U-verse TV (channel 1220) “at no additional cost to customers” after being removed from these platforms on January 25.

Neither DirecTV or Newsmax disclosed terms of the deal, but DirecTV’s language implies Newsmax wasn’t able to secure the guaranteed carriage fee of around $1 per customer per year it had demanded.

Previously, DirecTV carried Newsmax based on an advertising revenue-share arrangement, with no actual licensing fee, and it appears that kind of deal is still in place going forward. 

UPDATED: Expressing on a personal level Newsmax's displeasure over Next TV's informed analysis of the business arrangement with DirecTV, a spokesman for the channel released this statement late Wednesday afternoon: “This report again demonstrates that Daniel Frankel continues his leftwing bias against Newsmax by making false claims about us and our carriage agreement with DirecTV.”

No further info was provided as to what is specifically "false" about our report.

For Newsmax, failing to gain a carriage fee didn't result from a lack of trying. 

Also read: Newsmax Tells Congress DirecTV Discriminates Against Conservatives

The channel, founded and led by Chris Ruddy, a veteran conservative media figure described by Politico as a friend and ally of former President Donald Trump, sought and successfully secured advocacy from numerous ranking members of the newly installed GOP House leadership. 

A cacophony of conservative voices decried DirecTV's alleged "censorship" of conservative voices. This culminated in a declaration last month by House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who called for an investigation of the pay TV operator. 

Meanwhile, trying to play up the persecution factor, Newsmax called out all of the ”liberal news“ channels that were getting paid either carriage or retrans fees by DirecTV, a group that included ABC, CBS and NBC — all broadcasters, sworn to uphold the broad public interest by the FCC, and each owned by a Wall Street company. Newsmax even referred to The Weather Channel as being lefty. 

In the end, after nearly a full two-month silly season, DirecTV had stood by its guns — it was, in the words of DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow summing up the fiasco, simply an “all-too-common carriage dispute.” 

DirecTV, which is losing up to half a million customers each quarter, is trying to cut content cost, not pay increases, especially for niche channels that draw 100,000 viewers in prime time on their best days. 

Also read: DirecTV Tells Republicans: It’s ‘Economics, Not Ideology’

And perhaps sensing that House GOP leaders had moved on to the next outrage, Ruddy returned to the bargaining table. 

“Newsmax recognizes and appreciates that DirecTV clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones,” he said in a statement. “As a standalone company, DirecTV helped give Newsmax its start nearly a decade ago as it continues to do with upcoming news networks, which is why we are pleased to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that will deliver our network to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse customers over the next several years.” ■

In early February, U.S. House Republicans read the Constitution on the House floor following through on a Twitter pledge Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made after the GOP won control of the chamber last year. This dramatic recitation included the 45 words of the First Amendment — ”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.“

Yet within a matter of days, the new chairman of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), made clear that he had threatened executives at DirecTV and AT&T, which retains a majority ownership stake in the satellite provider, to put Newsmax back on its scheduled lineup, “or else.”

Newsmax currently is not part of DirecTV’s menu of available channels, because, as explained in a company statement, “On multiple occasions, we [DirecTV] 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.” For viewers, Newsmax still remains available through an even-wider video distribution platform, since nearly 300 Americans can continue to access it online for free through the Newsmax website.

This matter is a good-faith business dispute between two private companies, with no role to be played by chairman Comer. Nevertheless, Comer has made his threat to apply pressure to DirecTV and AT&T through the commencement of possible Congressional hearings. During a recent Newsmax interview with host John Bachman, he said, “So I think if anyone has ever watched the House Oversight Committee, any of our first three hearings, they have to ask themselves, do you really want to go in front of the House Oversight Committee? Because this is something that the 26 Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are very passionate about. We’re all huge fans of Newsmax.”  

Put simply, it is inconsistent with the Constitution to impose programming preferences through congressional strong-arming. This bedrock principle should be applicable for any type of programming that politicians of all political leanings might wish to mandate for a particular video distribution outlet. The potential involvement of the House Oversight Committee to undermine freedom of speech and of the press suggests that reading and honoring the First Amendment, instead of just reciting it aloud, would be the more meaningful course of action for House Republicans. ■

DirecTV, under pressure from conservative lawmakers since it dropped the right-wing channel Newsmax, told a group of Republican senators that it pays as much for conservative news channels as it does for liberal ones.

In a letter responding questions from to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), DirecTV general counsel Michael Hartman said that DirecTV carries five channels “that most people would consider to be predominantly news.”

He listed Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, The First and NewsNation.

“By most people’s measure,  two lean conservative (Fox News and The First), two lean liberal (CNN and MSNBC) and one is a new channel that is advertising that it is news-focused and in the center (NewsNation),”  Hartman said.  

DirecTV added The First after dropping Newsmax.

“Fox News is by far the leader in terms of audience and household penetration. Newsmax, when we distributed it, was a distant fourth among news channels to Fox, MSNBC and CNN,” he said. “The amounts DirecTV pays for conservative channels, in the aggregate, is roughly similar to what we pay for liberal channels, in the aggregate.”

In statements, Newsmax has been claiming DirecTV pays license fees to 22 liberal news channels. 

In his letter Hartman said that one of the channels identified as a liberal news channel was Vice. 

“As to Vice, Newsmax has made allegations of bias based on false claims about DirecTV carriage,” Hartman said. “Contrary to Newsmax’s assertions, DirecTV does not consider Vice a ‘news’ channel, DirecTV only carries Vice as part of our agreement with A+E Networks, under which we pay a lump sum for a suite of channels that happens to include Vice. Thus, whatever fees are paid to Vice are determined by A+E, and not DirecTV.”

Hartman also accused Newsmax of using its news content to spread unfounded claims about its dispute with DirecTV.

“Newsmax is using its news/editorial platform to publish inaccurate and misleading  information regarding our contract dispute,” he said. “Each day, the news outlet is publishing nearly two dozen blogs on its website and dozens of posts on its main social handle, creating targeted content for its commentators, leveraging its network of contributors and dedicating significant airtime each hour to our business dispute. In our view these efforts are obscuring facts, not elucidating the news. “

Hartman reiterated that its dispute with Newsmax was a routine carriage negotiation, about economics, not politics. 

DirecTV last year dropped One America News Network, another conservative news outlet.  artman declined to address the senators’ concerns about OANN.

“With respect to your questions regarding OANN, we are currently in litigation with OANN and as I am sure you can appreciate, we are not in a position to provide any information,” he said. ■

Three weeks into its carriage dispute with Newsmax, DirecTV has called out the ultra-conservative media company for using its "news/editorial platform" to wage what it views as simply a business negotiation. 

"It’s troubling that Newsmax is using its news/editorial platform to publish inaccurate and misleading information regarding our contract dispute," wrote Michael Hartman, general counsel and chief external affairs officer for DirecTV. 

"Each day, the news outlet is publishing nearly two dozen blogs on its website and dozens of posts on its main social handle, creating targeted content for its commentators, leveraging its network of contributors and dedicating significant airtime each hour to our business dispute," Hartman added. "In our view these efforts are obscuring facts in pursuit of Newsmax’s own commercial interests, not elucidating the news."

On Tuesday afternoon, Next TV simply plugged in the keyword "DirecTV" into a Google News search. The entire first page of the search, totaling 10 news items, consisted of Newsmax digital articles, all of which focused on Republican lawmakers and other conservative leaders condemning DirecTV for dropping Newsmax. 

Hartman's letter was in response to another letter sent last week on behalf of Newsmax by Bryan E. Leib, a frequent commentator on the channel. The letter was signed by other conservative Jewish leaders, including Alan Dershowitz, an attorney for former president Donald Trump, and Joseph Lieberman, a former U.S. Senator who notably defected from the Democratic Party 

With Newsmax using its platform to describe the letter as a referendum to DirecTV delivered straight from "Jewish leaders," Hartman's response to Leib was cc-ed to the 23 leaders who signed the Newsmax letter, assuring them that the matter is a "business dispute that has nothing to do with ideology, politics or censorship.

"We continue to be willing to negotiate with Newsmax in good faith, but believe it is our duty to protect our customers and preserve our right to provide the network at the right price, if we choose to do so," Hartman added.  

Both sides agree that the dispute stems from DirecTV's unwillingness to up its licensing compensation to Newsmax. The channel said it wants the equivalent of $1 a year for each of DirecTV's 13 million subscribers. Previously, the deal consisted only of the two sides sharing advertising revenue. 

DirecTV has framed its carriage dispute with Newsmax -- as well as an earlier impasse with another far right channel, One America News (OAN) -- as garden-variety business disputes. Notably, DirecTV -- which lost an estimated 500,000 customers in the third quarter -- also ditched Bloomberg News in 2021 following a 25-year partnership with the channel.

However, one key fact has emerged in the three weeks since Newsmax left the pay TV operator's programming grids: There's nothing usual at all about this asymmetrical carriage fight.

While the media company DirecTV is battling is small in stature, it has shown the means and ability to attract influential conservative lawmakers to its side. And as Newsmax's letter late last week revealed, this capability extends past the obvious politically opportunistic elements of the current Congressional House GOP leadership. 

Newsmax's founder and CEO, Chris Ruddy, has an extensive resume -- and the contacts that come with it -- that includes public policy training at the London School of Economics, a stint as an investigative reporter at Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, and a term of undergrad study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

Among Ruddy's many conservative bonafides, he studied as a media fellow at the Hoover Institution and is a member of the International Council headed by Henry Kissinger. 

Notably, Ruddy once served as a representative of a U.S. delegation led by Lieberman and Sen. Lindsay Graham to NATO's 44th Munich Security Conference. 

Perhaps as a result, a company drawing only 0.01% of the total U.S. TV audience has seemingly turned powerful political components in Washington, even Democratic ones, against what is still the third largest pay TV operator in America ... one majority owned by AT&T, a telecom that in the past has revealed decidedly conservative political leanings. 

As she tries to sway Senate Republicans in her third attempt to join the five-member FCC Commission, Democratic nominee Gigi Sohn said that DirecTV should in fact be investigated by the FCC for its role in the "deplatforming" of both Newsmax and OAN. 

Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn said she thinks the agency should investigate DirecTV's deplatforming of right-leaning cable news channels Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN).

That came in a back-and-forth with Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) Tuesday (February 14) during Sohn's third confirmation hearing before that committee.

Sohn said she did not know why conservative channels OANN and Newsmax were being deplatformed, pointing out that she had worked to help secure carriage of both.

Also: DirecTV Tells Newsmax to Stop Using Editorial Platform in Business Dispute

As head of Public Knowledge, Sohn advocated for carriage for independent programmers by the big distributors. She called OANN and Newsmax “real independent programmers” who got “knocked out” because someone else could bundle 15 channels.

Sohn said that sometimes the FCC was so busy working on broadband that important media-consolidation issues got pushed to the wayside.

She said the FCC should investigate the deplatforming and the related issues of bundling and most-favored-nation contract clauses.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), during his questioning, pointed out that OANN had just tweeted that it did not and would not support Sohn. 

“We have a long history of supporting independent programming and agree it is important for pay-TV services," said a DirecTV spokesperson. "We were the first pay TV operator to provide Newsmax with distribution and more recently were the first to add the conservative 24/7 news network, The First.” ■

On Sunday, DirecTV marketers strategically seized the upper hand in their carriage dispute with far-right channel Newsmax, exploiting a rare moment of relative media quiet with a reminder that the operator remains open to putting Newsmax back on its programming grid so long as the network breaks from its “unreasonable” carriage fee demands. 

In its statement responding to DirecTV's message on its “TV Promise” blog, Newsmax seemed to, at least to us, fall right into the trap ... by stating, at least on the surface, what seemed to be some fairly outrageous terms.  

“Newsmax is seeking a very modest fee of about $1 a cable subscriber when we believe our market rate is $5, and it’s a key reason why hundreds of cable operators renewed with us last year,” Newsmax said in a statement. 

Just how “modest” would $1 per month for each of DirecTV's 13 million customers be for a channel that averaged only around 0.1% of total U.S. TV viewing last year? 

Not modest

Updated: A Newsmax rep reached out to Next TV after we originally filed this story and said the "$1 per" rate quoted in the company's Sunday statement was based on an "annual" index, not a monthly one. In nearly 20 years of covering of the cable TV industry, we'd never encountered a single instance in which this metric was broken down by year and not month. 

Even monthly per-subscriber rates for pay TV services aren't easy to get. And the chart below isn't necessarily fresh — it was leaked by a virtual MVPD to analyst Dan Rayburn four years ago. But it still gives you some idea as to what the big channels cost relative to one another. 

Adjusting for inflation, a $1-per-sub monthly rate would price Newsmax at just below AMC, A&E and NFL RedZone. And notably, a “market rate” of $5 per customer would make Newsmax more expensive than the cable “news” leader, Fox News Channel. 

Taking Newsmax at its word, a carriage fee of $1 per year would break down to less than 10 cents a subscriber per month, which seems to match the channel's scale much better. 

Newsmax was pulled off of DirecTV's services rollup — which includes DirecTV satellite, AT&T U-verse TV and DirecTV Stream — back on Jan. 24, after the two sides couldn't agree on carriage renewal terms.

DirecTV had previously carried Newsmax on terms exclusively based on advertising sales, and Newsmax is now demanding that the pay TV operator also pay it a guaranteed carriage fee.

The twist in this garden-variety carriage dispute: Newsmax, led by longtime conservative operative Christopher Ruddy, has corralled the backing of the newly installed House Republican majority and has effectively messaged the business dispute in the terms of ideological grievance — DirecTV, which at one time incubated Newsmax, is now trying to “silence” conservative voices, say lawmakers who have promised investigations and hearings.

DirecTV, which reportedly lost another 500,000 subscribers in the third quarter, can ill afford to bleed many more. Then again, by capitulating to Newsmax and paying artificially high subscriber fees for a polarizing channel that's mostly available gratis in the FAST ecosystem, DirecTV would have to drive up subscriber fees to the point at which it would lose plenty of customers anyway. ■

Under siege from Republicans and conservatives, DirecTV on Sunday said it was still interested in bringing back right-wing news channel Newsmax.

DirecTV dropped Newsmax prompting concerns among some lawmakers about censorship and conservative views being stifled.

The satellite company seemed to be extending an olive branch on its website, where it made a statement concerning Newsmax. AT&T-owned DirecTV remained adamant that it will not pay the license fee that Newsmax is demanding, though.

“DirecTV aims to deliver the best, widest range of news, sports, and entertainment programming at a fair price. We regularly engage in negotiations with content providers and work hard to protect our customers from unfair price inflation,” the statement said.

“Our differences with Newsmax are economic, not political or ideological. Newsmax made unreasonable demands that would force DirecTV customers to fund the network’s shift from a free nationwide streaming service to one that will require a pay TV subscription. Since we would not agree to Newsmax’s demand to pay them tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees, DirecTV was no longer permitted by Newsmax to air its content," DirecTV said. “DirecTV is disappointed by Newsmax’s position. We prefer Newsmax had never left and remain interested in bringing Newsmax back under the right financial terms.” 

Newsmax did take too kindly to DirecTV's latest approach

“Newsmax is seeking a very modest fee of about $1 a cable subscriber when we believe our market rate is $5, and it’s a key reason why hundreds of cable operators renewed with us last year," the network said in a statement. "This is blatant political discrimination because DirecTV pays dozens of liberal- leaning networks fees higher than what we are asking and they typically have much lower ratings than Newsmax, which is the 4th highest-rated cable news channel.”

Before dropping Newmax, DirecTV noted that it was among the first distributors to carry Newsmax and said its decision to no longer carry the channel was an economic one and not a ideological one.

Shortly after Newsmax was dropped, DirecTV added The First, which it called a conservative-appeal commentary channel. 

“While we are glad AT&T DirecTV is adding a conservative commentary channel, it is a pathetic attempt to deal with millions of angry viewers who still want Newsmax for our top-rated shows, personalities, and in-depth news coverage," Newsmax said in a statement at the time. "The facts remain: DirecTV dropped two of the most popular conservative channels in the past year, replaced them with a channel with no rating, and they still carry more than 20 liberal-leaning news channels.”

DirecTV last year dropped another conservative channel, Herring Networks-owned One America News, so the Newsmax decision was particularly alarming to Republican lawmakers who now control the House of Representatives. 

Last week a group of Republican Senators wrote to DirecTV expressing their concerns and demanding anxwers.

Eariler, more than 40 members of the House had sent a letter to the company questioning why it was considering dropping Newsmax. ■

DirecTV is getting more pressure — this time from a group of Senate Republicans — over its decision to drop the conservative Newsmax network after a carriage agreement expired.

DirecTV had said dropping Newsmax was a business decision, but Newsmax accused it of political discrimination and censorship. That’s something congressional Republicans have their antennas up for on multiple fronts, most prominently with social media platforms but also traditional TV.

DirecTV is free to drop channels for legitimate business reasons, just not to discriminate in channel carriage for other reasons, which would run afoul of Federal Communications Commission rules.

In response to the DirecTV move and Newsmax complaints, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee; Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Mike Lee (R-Utah); and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote the CEOs of DirecTV and parents AT&T and TPG Capital, voicing concerns and “demanding” answers.

Also: DirecTV Drops Bloomberg TV After More Than 25 Years

The legislators said the move looked like “the latest example of big business suppressing politically disfavored speech at the behest of liberal Democrats.”

DirecTV also dropped conservative channel One America News Network, which Cruz and company cited as another possible decision pressured by Democrats, who had called on it to drop OANN.

The senators want answers to a raft of questions — for example: “Why did DirecTV decide to drop Newsmax while it continued to carry and pay the liberal news and information channel Vice, which reportedly has much lower ratings than Newsmax?” — as well as any documents related to the dropping of both channels as well as “any communications they have had with the White House, Democrat members of Congress, or Democrat campaign committees relating to Newsmax or OANN.”

Since Republicans do not control the Senate or committee chairmanships and their investigative authority, the best they can do is ask for the info and hope. ■

No stranger to weighing in on issues that stoke the outraged frontal lobes of his political base, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has thrown shade against DirecTV over its carriage battle with Newsmax ... days after former President Donald Trump, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and 41 conservative Congressional lawmakers called for House investigations of the pay TV operator. 

Also read: Newsmax IDs Its List of America's 23 'Liberal News Networks' -- Topped by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN ... and The Weather Channel?

Accusing DirecTV of targeting Newsmax, as well as One America News Network, another far-right news channel it dropped last year, DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday that the satellite TV company's decision "does warrant an investigation." 

He added, "I think probably the Congress, in the House, would probably be best to do it."

For his part, McCarthy promised last week that there would in fact be committee hearings in regard to what GOP lawmakers say is a systemic bias against conservative voices held by DirecTV's stakeholders. 

Unless you've been hunkered down in your survival bunker for several weeks, or you've been canvassing Arizona door-to-door amid defeated gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's imponderable stop-the-steal! campaign, you may have missed that DirecTV dropped Newsmax last week ... or Newsmax removed its channel from DirecTV, depending on who you believe. 

For media and political watchers, this particular carriage war, garden variety as it might be minus its strange politicization, has proven a bit baffling. For one, DirecTV, which is now being labeled as silencer of conservative voices, helped incubate both Newsmax and OAN.

Both channels have limited audiences. In the case of Newsmax, it only averaged 101,000 viewers, or 0.1% of the TV audience last year. (OAN drew far less than that.)

Meanwhile, in addition to being a prominent denizen of American capitalism, free to make business decisions in areas like program licensing that aren't overtly regulated by the FCC, DirecTV majority owner AT&T is a Dallas-based telecom that has worked closely -- perhaps too closely -- with Republican lawmakers, in the recent past, on issues like corporate tax reform. 

And private equity company TPG, which owns the other 30% of DirecTV is, well, a private equity firm. You don't typically see a lot of these guys at, say, Biden fundraisers. 

Another thing that DirecTV has stated ... and Newsmax hasn't disputed: The source of the friction is Newsmax's demand that DirecTV start paying it an actual carriage fee instead of carrying the channel under all-advertising terms. 

As if an arcane pay TV carriage war seeping into the broader Culture Wars and associated Outrage Machine wasn't in and of itself fascinating enough, The Daily Beast on Monday uncovered an interesting data tidbit: Fox News, which has a proverbial multiyear licensing deal to cover conservative outrage, has only given the DirecTV/Newsmax issue 35 seconds of total coverage. 

Eric Bolling, a former Fox News anchor now situated at Newsmax, called out on the air Monday, asking, "Where are you, Fox?"

Meanwhile, a Newsmax rep told The Daily Beast, "The fact Fox News won’t cover this blatant censorship of a conservative network like Newsmax demonstrates they can’t be trusted to be the only source of news for millions of Americans.”

Has Newsmax drifted so far right that even the most centrist channels look like they should be broadcast out of Berkley, Calif. with a hammer and sickle inserted into their logo?

As it has rhetorically sought to bring DirecTV to heel in a pay TV carriage war this week, primarily by harnessing the intense heat energy of identity politics, Newsmax noted in several press statements that its satellite TV nemesis unfairly pays program licensing fees for "22 liberal news channels." 

We asked a Newsmax press rep just who those channels were. Boy, did he deliver ... he even gave us one extra.

Who's on the list? America's largest, most mainstream broadcast networks, each owned by publicly traded companies and mandated by the FCC to appeal to the broader consumer interest; CNN, a rival cable news channel currently in the midst of renewing its centrist vows under the whip of media entrepreneur John Malone; and The Weather Channel, now owned by Byron Allen, a fast-hustling media entrepreneur who's done some fundraising for Dem political candidates ... but come on, just how "liberal" can The Weather Channel really get?

Newsmax's 23 'Liberal News Networks'

1. ABC
2. CBS
3. NBC
4. CNN
5. CNN Headline News
6. MSNBC
7. CNBC
8. Bloomberg
9. Comedy Channel
10. Vice
11. Newsnation
12. BBC
13. Weather Channel
14. Cheddar
15. PBS
16. The Grio
17. Justice Central
18. CNN International
19. CNBC World
20. BBC World News
21. CNN en Espanol
22. Telemundo
23. Univision

Many of these channels, the rep told us, have been identified by third party surveys as "leaning" left. 

Our view: There's a big difference between a 24-hour "news" channel focused on red-meat conservatism and a Big Four broadcast network, perceived to lean slightly leftward in big, broad Morning Consult surveys. 

Our further point: If you're Newsmax, and your perspective is that DirecTV co-owner AT&T -- the Dallas-based telecom that was not that long ago a major supporter of former president Donald Trump's corporate tax cut -- is so left of center that it's intentionally trying to "silence conservative voices," well, maybe you've drifted pretty far to the right ... so far, that America's most mainstream broadcast outlets now look like Che Guevara to you.

Or maybe you're just pretending to think this because you want to find a way to force DirecTV to pay you carriage fees. 

Not true, counterclaimed Newsmax. After all, the rep told us, Newsmax hasn't bashed the idea of Americans immunizing themselves against a deadly virus! The channel hasn't been among the detractors of the Biden Administration's decision to support Ukraine in its life-or-death defense against a brutal invasion by a dangerous Russian dictator. It even allowed the First Lady of the United States to appear on its channel. 

What a centrist!

For its part, Next TV has heard this, er, wrap before. A year ago, after founder Chris Ruddy shoveled it to us for about 40 minutes on the phone, we committed a total of around 16 hours of elliptical workout/TV watching time to Newsmax ... and segments that might as well have been titled, "Bad Things About Joe Biden." That'll get the ol' heart rate up to 130!

In our opinion, which on frequent occasion gets humbled by Ms. Next TV, this channel is very far to the right of the American political spectrum. That's just our truth. 

"That's subjective," the rep told us. 

After raising Republican ire by dropping right-wing news channel Newsmax, DirecTV announced that it is adding The First, described as a conservative-appeal commentary channel, to its DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse TV services.

DirecTV said it has made a multiyear commitment to carry the channel, which will be provided free to subscribers. DirecTV maintains that Newsmax is no longer being carried because it wanted a carriage fee after previously not charging one.

“DirecTV values different viewpoints and perspectives and will always work to preserve expansive choice among a wide variety of entertainment and information services to appeal to the unique tastes and interests of our diverse customer base,” Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV, said. “As we’ve successfully done with other emerging channels, we look forward to helping The First continue to expand its audience reach, while constantly ensuring that our customers receive a strong value.”

The First initially launched via streaming on Paramount’s Pluto TV in October 2019. Its lineup features daily programs including The Dana Show with Dana Loesch; The Liz Wheeler Show, No Spin News with Bill O’Reilly and I’m Right with Jesse Kelly.

“DirecTV clearly recognizes the importance of offering a wide array of views and perspectives to their customers across the U.S., and we’re thrilled The First is now among them since we reach conservatives who aren’t beholden to any one party’s talking points,” First TV CEO Christopher Balfe said. “We give rise to voices who are passionate about American values yet too often ignored, and now have a unique opportunity to broaden our reach without saddling DirecTV and its customers with any added financial demands.”

The decision to drop Newsmax, after cutting One America News Network last year, raised concerns among Republican lawmakers that conservative voices were being stifled.

Newsmax contended that DirecTV was engaged in discrimination and censorship.

“While we are glad AT&T DirecTV is adding a conservative commentary channel, it is a pathetic attempt to deal with millions of angry viewers who still want Newsmax for our top-rated shows, personalities, and in-depth news coverage," Newsmax said in a statement. "The facts remain: DirecTV dropped two of the most popular conservative channels in the past year, replaced them with a channel with no rating, and they still carry more than 20 liberal-leaning news channels.”

Former president Donald Trump also blasted the decision.

DirecTV said adding The First was also part of its strategic plan to integrate more streaming programming into its offering.

The new high-definition service will join the DirecTV satellite lineup on channel 349 and U-verse TV on channel 1220. ■

Former President Donald Trump blasted DirecTV for dropping conservative news network Newsmax.

“This disgusting move comes after ‘deplatforming’ OAN [One America News Network] last year,” Trump said in a message on his Truth Social social-media platform. “The Radical left seems to have taken over the mind and soul of AT&T. This is a big blow to the Republican Party and to America Itself.”

“For DirecTV to drop very popular Newsmax, without explanation, will not be accepted. I, for one, will be dropping all association with AT&T and DirecTV, and I have plenty. This is just one of many reasons why we must win in 2024!!!"

AT&T spun off DirecTV, but remains majority owner.

Newsmax reported the Trump comments on its website.

Donald Trump Jr. called for a boycott of DirecTV in a tweet: “It’s time for Americans to return the favor and drop ATT. @PatriotMobile is the ONLY conservative mobile provider — use code ‘DONJR’ for FREE activation!”

The battle between Newsmax and DirecTV has taken on political as well as business implications.

Leading up to Newsmax losing carriage on DirecTV, Republican members of Congress expressed concern that conservative voices were being stifled and said they might hold hearing into the situation.

After being dropped, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy accused DirecTV of “political discrimination and censorship.”

DirecTV said it no longer carries Newsmax because it wanted to be paid a carriage fee. The network had been providing its content for free to distributors, generating revenue through advertising.

"The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T's DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN needed to be deplatformed,” Ruddy said.

DirecTV told the Republican lawmakers that its carriage decision was based on “economic, not ideology,” insisting that at a time when cord-cutting is rampant, increasing the cost to consumers was something it couldn't afford to do. ■

A year ago, far right cable channel Newsmax was dropped by Atlantic Broadband, Cincinnati Bell and several tier 3 cable operators. 

With Democrats still controlling the House of Representatives, and technology-media-telecom press fixated at the time on the distribution problems of another right-wing info channel, One America News Network (OANN), in the aftermath of the January 6 Insurrection, Newsmax's sudden loss of pay TV distribution largely went unnoticed. 

This week, however, the programmer's carriage dispute with DirecTV has assumed center stage, with Republican House leaders now heading committees and eager to spotlight their grievances, which often include what they see as the coordinated muting of conservative voices. 

Meanwhile, consumer brands like DirecTV are now operating in a suddenly trickier business climate in which the right's culture war winds can quickly blow cold over a large percentage of your customer base, even for cartoon characters shilling candy confections. 

As Broadcasting+Cable reported Wednesday morning, following removal of OANN last year, and Newsmax from its programming grid the prior evening, Republican lawmakers are putting pressure on DirecTV, accusing the pay TV operator of "actively working to limit conservative viewpoints on its platform." 

Individuals close to DirecTV's dealings claim the operator didn't drop Newsmax. The channel, Next TV was told, was carried on all three platforms of the DirecTV rollup -- DirecTV satellite, DirecTV Stream and AT&T U-verse -- without a carriage fee, with all revenue generated by ad sales. DirecTV, which typically holds back a portion of that ad time, even gave that inventory to Newsmax, the source said. (It was unclear as to how DirecTV made money via this relationship.)

The carriage renewal talks broke down when Newsmax insisted on a traditional carriage fee, the DirecTV source added. 

Newsmax largely confirms the basic mechanics of the breakdown, but disputes the business rationale. A Newsmax rep told Next TV that its ad sales arrangement netted DirecTV $2.7 million in profits in 2022. 

Newsmax, a press rep added, convinced Dish Network, Verizon Fios and the National Content and Technology Cooperative to agree its carriage fee demands last year. 

Further, the rep said, "DirecTV carries 22 liberal or liberal-leaning channels, all of whom get fees. DirecTV believes only one conservative channel [Fox News] should get a fee."

It's still unclear as to what those 22 "liberal" networks are. But Newsmax did say that Vice, an identifiably progressive news channel, only commands around 20% of the audience Newsmax delivers, but still collects a carriage fee from DirecTV. 

Audience-wise, that's a sliver of a sliver -- according to Nielsen, Newsmax only averages 101,000 viewers, or around 0.1% of the total U.S. TV audience. 

And Vice's situation is a little different -- private equity company TPG, which took on 30% of DirecTV when AT&T spun the service off in 2021, is an investor in Vice, as Newsmax itself notes. 

For the most part, Newsmax's argument against DirecTV has been somewhat rhetorical: "This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media, said in a statement. "The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T's DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN needed to be de-platformed."

For its part, Dallas-based AT&T was a major backer of former Republican president Donald Trump and his 2017 corporate tax cut. We just don't see the wireless giant as a left-leaning activist company. 

As for DirecTV, Next TV noted several weeks ago that the operator is quietly steering customers from its legacy satellite TV and U-verse platforms to DirecTV Stream, which operates with much skinner bundles of channels. At this point, DirecTV -- which saw its base dwindle to around 13 million homes last year -- is probably looking to shed networks, an agenda decidedly based on economic imperative, and which has nothing to do with political bent. 

Also notable: Newsmax is demanding a carriage fee, despite the fact that much of its content is distributed in the free ad-supported streaming (FAST) ecosystem. A quick perusal of Newsmax's "find-us" page reveals that beyond what remains distribution far more robust than OANN ever had on its best days, the channel's content can be found on FASTs including The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Samsung TV Plus.

All of this begs the question, now that Newmax has the political wind at its back: Is it resorting to rhetorical tactics that have frequently proven highly effective in carriage battles? And which now have the support of Congress?

In other words, is this just a typical pay TV carriage battle ... one in which Newsmax is seizing the extreme and dangerous political polarization of our time in order to win? 

Could be. 

The channel has upcoming renewal stocks slated with Nos. 1 and 2 pay TV operators, Comcast and Charter Communications. Republicans control the House for the next two years. And things could remain -- and get even more -- interesting. 

Newsmax, knocked off DirecTV Tuesday night, accused the satellite TV company of “political discrimination and censorship.”

In a statement, Newsmax noted that it was the second conservative news network to be “de-platformed” by DirecTV and its majority owner AT&T. One America News Network was dropped by DirecTV last year.

Also Read: Newsmax Tells Congress DirecTV Discriminates Against Conservatives

"This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media, said. "The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T's DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN needed to be de-platformed.”

Newsmax said that DirecTV carries 22 liberal or liberal-leaning channels and that all of them get fees. “DirecTV believes only on conservative channel should get a fee.”

DirecTV said it was one of the first distributors to carry Newsmax. Newsmax was not getting a fee and makes its programming available for free online and through several streaming platforms. It said it dropped Newsmax because it didn’t want to raise costs to its subscribers.

Congressional Republicans raised concerns that Newsmax might be dropped, restricting conservative viewpoints on television.

Responding to a letter from Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, DirecTV said its decision was based on “economics, not ideology.” ■

DirecTV stopped carrying Newsmax when an extension of their carriage agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. ET in a move that could have repercussions in Washington.

DirecTV, one of the first distributors to carry Newsmax, said it ceased carrying the conservative news network because it was seeking a carriage fee after previously being available for free.

“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,” DirecTV said in a statement. "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. We continually evaluate the most relevant programming to provide our customers and expect to fill this available channel with new content."

Newsmax had been telling Republicans in Congress that DirecTV was discriminating against its conservative viewpoint.

“The most important fact about this dispute is this: in response to pressure from Congressional Democrats, AT&T and DirecTV have twice demonetized a conservative news channel in just one year. Yet they continue to carry and pay many liberal channels with a fraction of Newsmax’s audience share. This is prima facie evidence of viewpoint discrimination,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said in a letter sent to Congressman Wesley Hunt of Texas on Tuesday.

Hunt on Monday had sent a letter to DirecTV expressing concern that DirecTV, which last year dropped One America News Networks, another conservative outlet, was stifling  conservative voices and making it more difficult for Republicans to communicate with constituents.

The letter was cosigned by more than 40 other Republican members of Congress and warned that they would hold hearings on the situation.

In its reply, DirecTV said that the decision was about economics, not ideology,

Also: DirecTV Drops Bloomberg TV After More Than 25 Years

DirecTV general counsel Michael Hartman, in a letter to Rep. Hunt, said that AT&T has been negotiating with Newsmax for months. “Faced with an expiration of our current agreement, [we] initiated a short-term extension to allow the parties to come to an agreement.”

Hartman told the members of Congress that “in no way is DirecTV working to limit conservative viewpoints.”

But Ruddy noted that while balking at paying for Newsmax, “DirecTV continually renews low-rated liberal channels and pays them much higher fees than their market value. Meanwhile, they argue conservative channels should be closed down for ‘cost cutting.’ Again, this is blatant hypocrisy and discrimination.” ■

Newmax's CEO told Congress that DirecTV and AT&T are discriminating against conservative viewpoints as DirecTV nears a decision on whether or not to drop Newsmax.

Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas sent a letter to DirecTV about congressional concerns that DirecTV was targeting a conservative news network. The letter was co-signed by more than 40 other members of Congress.

Newsmax could be dropped by DirecTV as early as 11:59 p.m. Tuesday night.

In its reply, DirecTV said that the decision was about economics, not ideology, but Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy responded with an alternative explanation in his response to DirecTV.

Also: Newsmax Says It Expects ‘Fair’ Treatment from DirecTV

“The most important fact about this dispute is this: in response to pressure from Congressional Democrats, AT&T and DirecTV have twice demonetized a conservative news channel in just one year. Yet they continue to carry and pay many liberal channels with a fraction of Newsmax’s audience share. This is prima facie evidence of viewpoint discrimination,” Ruddy said in a letter obtained by Broadcasting+Cable.

Ruddy urged the Republican-controlled House to demand DirecTV and all pay-TV systems “be fair and equitable toward conservative media.” He also said Congress should hold hearings into how Democratic pressure resulted in Newsmax and One America News being targeted by AT&T and DirecTV.

Also: DirecTV Drops One America News

In his letter, Ruddy notes that while Newsmax does not currently receive carriage fees from DirecTV, the agreement has numerous provisions for Newsmax to receive fees upon renewal.

“Last year, we had only three major cable agreements up for renewal -- Verizon, Dish and the NCTC -- and all accepted our modest rate card for renewal. DirecTV is the one acting outside the norm,” Ruddy said.

While balking at paying for Newsmax, “DirecTV continually renews low-rated liberal channels and pays them much higher fees than their market value. Meanwhile, they argue conservative channels should be closed down for ‘cost cutting.’ Again, this is blatant hypocrisy and discrimination.”

Citing Nielsen, Ruddy said Newsmax was the fourth-highest-rated cable news channel and the 16th-highest rated cable channel in daytime. [Newsmax ranked in a tie for 72d place, with Science, in network total viewers in 2022, according to Variety. In August 2022, the highest-rated Newsmax show, Rob Schmitt Tonight, ranked 47th among news shows that month, with an average 264,000 total viewers, per TV Newser.] 

Ruddy also said all of the top 75 cable channels on DirecTV get fees, except Newsmax.

“The marketplace has confirmed that Newsmax is a valuable channel deserving a fair and equitable rate, as our renewals with Dish, Verizon, and NCTC demonstrate. It is AT&T and DirecTV that are acting in a discriminatory manner,” Ruddy said.  ■

Responding to Republican members of Congress concerned about conservative news networks being stifled, DirecTV said its decision about whether to continue to carry Newsmax is driven by “economics, not ideology.”

DirecTV could stop carrying Newsmax as early as 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.

In a letter from company general counsel Michael Hartman to Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas and about 40 other House members, a copy of which was obtained by Broadcasting+Cable, DirecTV said “we want to continue our carriage of Newsmax at the same terms as at present.”

Hartman said that AT&T-majority-owned DirecTV has been negotiating with Newsmax for months. “Faced with an expiration of our current agreement, [we] initiated a short-term extension to allow the parties to come to an agreement.”

Also: Newsmax Says It Expects ‘Fair’ Treatment from DirecTV

According to DirecTV, Newsmax has gotten broad distribution in exchange for not charging a distribution fee. DirecTV also has given the local commercial breaks, usually sold by the distributor, back to Nexmax to sell. 

At the same time, DirecTV has agreed that Newsmax can be distributed online and on streaming platforms for free. That arrangement enables Newsmax to reach both the 60% of households that have pay-TV and the 40% that don’t.

Newsmax is now seeking fees for its programming and offering to stop providing Newsmax online for free. Under that scenario, 55 million U.S. households would no longer be able to access Newsmax in its current form unless they acquire a pay-TV subscription, DirecTV said. “Under this change in model, who’s doing the de-platforming? Certainly not DirecTV.” 

After dropping Herring Networks-owned One America News last year, Hartman told the members of Congress that “in no way is DirecTV working to limit conservative viewpoints.”

He noted that the pay-TV business is shrinking, under pressure from tech companies that have moved into the content distribution business.

“We remain hopeful that we will reach an agreement with Newsmax that will allow us to continue to carry their programming while keeping our service affordable. We appreciate your concern for our customers. And we would be happy to meet to provide additional information if it would be helpful to do so,” Hartman said. ■

Facing being dropped by DirecTV, Newsmax said it expects fair treatment from the satellite company.

“While we cannot comment on negotiations, we expect DirecTV, and its majority owner AT&T, to treat Newsmax on a fair and equitable basis in relation to all of the channels it carries, especially after both companies de-platformed OAN last year,” the network said in a statement.

DirecTV said it might drop Newsmax because the conservative news channel is seeking a “significant fee” to be carried. Up till now, Newsmax provided its signal to carriers for free, using extensive distribution to generate ad revenues.

Newsmax could be dropped as early as 11:59 p.m. Tuesday night.

Newmax currently makes its channel available free to viewers on its website and YouTube and through streaming platforms including Amazon Fire and Roku.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Newsmax would stop the free feed if its gets carriage fees from the cable and satellite operators that carry it.

Newsmax is also planning to launch a free ad supported streaming TV channel called Newsmax2 that would carry news headlines and be a different product from the Newsmax available via pay TV. 

The possibility that DirecTV could drop Newsmax after dropping another conservative network One America News Network last year, has raised concerns among Republican lawmakers.

Freshman Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) wrote a letter to DirecTV and its owners seeking information about the situation. The letter was cosigned by more than 40 other members of Congress.

“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 letter said. “This is extremely concerning for Members of Congress because it suppresses political discourse and hamstrings our ability to connect with our constituents.”

If Newsmax is dropped, following the removal of OAN, the letter said “Congress intends to conduct extensive oversight on the extent to which House Democrats and officials in federal offices colluded with private companies to limit, restrict, and circumvent First Amendment rights. These investigations will not be limited to social media companies.” ■

Conservative news network Newsmax might be dropped from DirecTV this week, in a move that House Republicans are saying they will investigate although the pay TV provider said the motivation is saving costs.

 Also Read: DirecTV Stops Carrying Newsmax As Contract Extension Expires

DirecTV said it has been carrying Newsmax on its satellite TV service, DirecTV Stream and U-verse TV platforms at no cost to customers because Newsmax has not been charging a fee to carry the channel. That allows Newsmax the ability to generate advertising revenue. 

“However the network is now seeking significant fees that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base,” DirecTV said.  

After losing 500,000 subscribers in the third quarter, DirecTV has about 13.3 million customers.

If Newsmax insists on receiving a fee, it could be dropped from DirecTV. That could happen as soon as Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.

The dispute has reached Washington, D.C., where freshman Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) wrote a letter to DirecTV and its owners seeking information about the situation. The letter was cosigned by more than 40 other members of Congress.

“It is our understanding that DirecTV — still majority-owned by AT&T and minority-owned and managed by TPG Capital — is moving to deplatform Newsmax by denying it cable fees on a fair and equitable basis,” the Hunt letter said. 

The letter notes that DirecTV no longer carries One America News Network, which is another right-leaning news service, and carries “11 ‘liberal news and information‘ ” networks, including Vice. OAN's owner, Herring Networks, cried foul over the OAN drop and sued DirecTV in California. A court recently dismissed the central claims in that breach-of-contract lawsuit. 

“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 letter said. “This is extremely concerning for Members of Congress because it suppresses political discourse and hamstrings our ability to connect with our constituents.”

If Newsmax is dropped, following the removal of OAN, the letter said “Congress intends to conduct extensive oversight on the extent to which House Democrats and officials in federal offices colluded with private companies to limit, restrict, and circumvent First Amendment rights. These investigations will not be limited to social media companies.”

The letter asks DirecTV to respond and provide ratings for the ratings of the news networks, set-top box data and information about the fees paid to those networks.

According to Nielsen, Newmax’s averaged 101,000 households, or less than 0.1% of total TV households, which is 92% lower than Fox News Channel, 84% lower than MSNBC and 79% lower than CNN.

DirecTV noted that Newsmax makes its channel available to viewers at no charge via NewmaxTV.com, YouTube.com and streaming platforms including Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Google Play. ■

Suddenly a hero to the far right, will Elon Musk swoop in and save One America News Network from pay TV carriage damnation?

The chances of the late John Kennedy Jr. suddenly resurfacing at a Dallas car wash are probably better.

On Thursday, Robert Herring, who owns the now very poorly distributed OANN, posted on the social media platform that Musk is currently trying to buy, Twitter, that "he'd 'just received a call from somebody very close to @elonmusk'" about the so-called richest man on earth possibly buying OANN.

Musk quickly shot that down "Only Twitter," Musk tweeted.

OANN lost its largest distributor in early April, when DirecTV demurred on extending the channel's carriage on its satellite TV and streaming pay TV platforms. In fact, in terms of pay TV distribution, OANN remains on Verizon Fios, which has just under 3.7 million subscribers, along with the TV/video services of a handful of small, regional cable operators. 

OANN also has streaming distribution of OAN Plus via platforms like Pluto TV, but it will probably need a benefactor to keep the lights on much longer. 

Not that Herring looks desperate or anything. 

As for the self-made son of a South African emerald miner, Musk said earlier this week that he won't fulfill his commitment to pay over $33 billion in cash for Twitter until the social media company gives up all its data on bot and spam accounts. Twitter called Musk's bluff and is in the process of assembling and delivering that data. ■

Veteran news anchor Greta Van Susteren will host The Record with Greta Van Susteren on Newsmax.

Newsmax is a conservative channel challenging Fox News for viewers. It was sued last year by voting machine makers over reports claiming that the devices were involved in fraudulent voting during the 2020 election.

“No one in journalism better exemplifies Newsmax’s mission to provide fact-based news and fact-based opinion than Greta Van Susteren,” Newsmax Media CEO Chris Ruddy said. “We are so pleased and honored to have Greta lead our nightly news lineup of programs.”

The new show is expected to premiere on June 14.

Van Susteren became well known during the O.J. Simpson murder trial and has hosted shows on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. Most recently she hosted a morning show airing on Gray Television stations.

“With all that is going on in the world, I am getting back to my roots — a daily live news show with real reporting from the places where things are happening,” Van Susteren said.

“I have been friends with [Newsmax CEO] Chris Ruddy for years, and he is giving me this great opportunity to return, giving me the complete freedom to cover the news that really matters to people,” Van Susteren said. ■

While the focus has been on its conservative programming rival One America News and its recent carriage struggles, Newsmax has also quietly lost distribution on a number of pay TV systems in recent weeks. 

Since Dec. 31, Newsmax has been pulled off the pay TV grids of cable operators including Atlantic Broadband, Cincinnati Bell, South Carolina's Hargray Communications (now owned by Cable One) and Central Pennsylvania's Blue Ridge Communications. And these are just the cable systems that have dropped Newsmax that we know about. 

It's unclear as to whether the carriage disruptions are part of an expiration of a master carriage deal Newsmax originally signed back in 2015 with the National Cable TV Cooperative (NCTC), which counts most, if not all, of the aforementioned cable companies as members. NCTC negotiates carriage agreements for around 700 member companies. 

Reps for Newsmax and NCTC didn't immediately respond to our inquires. 

Also read: OAN Will Have Less Than 5 Million Remaining Pay TV Subscribers Following DirecTV Ouster

As OAN has with its upcoming ouster from DirecTV, New York-based Newsmax has attributed its recent blackout troubles to "censorship" of conservative voices. 

"Despite our high ratings with personalities like Greg Kelly, Eric Bolling, Sean Spicer, Lyndsay Keith, Dick Morris, Alan Dershowitz, and more — it is clear that Blue Ridge doesn’t like Newsmax’s point of view," Newsmax said in a boilerplate statement released Monday intended to decry its concurrent loss of carriage on Hargray systems. 

The cable operators, meanwhile, frame the issue in standard carriage war terms -- it's just business. 

"While we worked in good faith to negotiate a new agreement, Newsmax insisted on unreasonable terms and conditions that would have resulted in increased TV fees for all Atlantic Broadband customers even though Newsmax is available for free for other viewers," Atlantic Broadband said in a statement. "This is unfair to Atlantic Broadband customers, including those who enjoy the channel. Because we could not reach a new agreement, the channel is no longer offered on our lineup.”

As its conservative informational rivals Fox News and OAN have, Newsmax has been accused of backing former president Donald Trump's "Big Lie," and fomenting all the associated trouble that has come with that, including the January 6, 2021 Insurrection and attack on the U.S. democracy. 

Progressives and media watchdog groups have urged pay TV operators to drop channels including Newsmax that have supported a profoundly dangerous narrative not underpinned by facts. 

Whether Newsmax is facing a rash of garden-variety program licensing disputes or has a far more serious problem whereby pay TV companies are no longer interested in licensing its channel, regardless of the price, for purposes of political baggage is hard to publicly know. 

At this point, it's safe to say that Newsmax's pay TV distribution is in far better shape than that of OAN, which touts Verizon Fios as its only remaining significant distributor. 

For example, both U.S. satellite TV companies, DirecTV and Dish Network, still include Newsmax in their base tiers. 

Recently rebranded as "Breezeline, Atlantic Broadband operates in 18 states and just touted around 360,000 pay TV customers as of the end of the third quarter -- which is probably more than Cincinnati Bell, Hargray and Blue Ridge have combined. 

Yet, if the issue with these distributors is what Newsmax has publicly said it is -- these cable operators simply don't like the channel's "point of view" -- that number will soon grow. 

Stay tuned. 

Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel made it clear to Republican lawmakers before her successful confirmation vote (68 to 31) earlier this month to a new, five-year term that she did not support efforts by “some liberal organizations” to remove conservative cable channels from their lineups or for the agency to use its license revocation power on broadcasters.

That assertion came in written answers to questions submitted after her confirmation hearing last month.

Rosenworcel was asked by at least three different Republicans about the issue of viewpoint diversity and alleged censorship of cable and broadcast.

This was how the question was posted by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.): “There have been efforts by some of our colleagues in the House of Representatives to pressure MVPDs into removing Fox News, Newsmax and other conservative channels from their lineups. There have also been calls by some liberal organizations to have the FCC revoke the licenses of broadcasters like Sinclair. Are you in favor of these calls to use the FCC to remove certain viewpoints from the airwaves?”

In an answer that would have made the late Rep. John Dingell proud, her answer was a succinct: "No."

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) asked the question this way: “Will you commit to ensuring the FCC does not factor political content or viewpoints when issuing licenses, making regulatory decisions, or approving mergers and acquisitions?”

This time, the answer was a simple “yes.”

Sen Rick Scott (R-Fla.) got right to the “C” word (censorship): “The FCC has authority over broadcast licenses. As a nominee for this bipartisan commission, do you believe the government has the authority to censor opinions?”

“No,” said Rosenworcel, adding: “FCC authority is limited by the First Amendment and Section 326 of the Communications Act.” That section says the FCC has no authority to censor speech. ■

James Rosen has joined conservative cable outlet, Newsmax, as chief White House correspondent.

Rosen has been with Sinclair Broadcasting most recently and before that was chief Washington correspondent at Fox News until his exit in 2017 following an NPR story about allegations of sexual misconduct.

In 2014, the Justice Department investigated Rosen as a co-conspirator in the leak of classified info because he sought that information from a source. The Justice Department seized some of Rosen's e-mails and phone records as it did of AP journalists in another case, but in the AP case, attorney general Eric Holder suggested Justice should only be pursuing leakers as law-breakers, not the journalists who secured the info.

At the time, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that the characterization of Rosen as an "abettor and/or co-conspirator" appeared to be just such a targeting of journalists.

Newsmax cited the Obama-era investigation and resulting procedural reforms at State and Justice.

“James Rosen is not only a reporter’s reporter, but also a great thinker and author who can share complex issues on a TV screen and explain them in clear and understandable ways,” said Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy.

Rosen arrives following Newsmax's removal of White House correspondent Emerald Robinson from the air after she tweeted a bonkers anti-vaccine theory about them containing bioluminescent markers that can allow the vaccinated to be tracked by the government, after which she was removed from Twitter. Her contract will also reported not be renewed when it comes up in January. ■

Newsmax and One America News Network were sued by yet another voting machine maker Wednesday, with Smartmatic joining Dominion in defamation claims against the far right media outlets tied to their reporting about unsubstantiated 2020 presidential election fraud allegations. 

"Despite claims to provide viewers with honest, unbiased reporting, these outlets victimized Smartmatic by spreading false information about the company following last year's election, all in their efforts to increase viewership and revenue," J. Erik Connolly, one of the attorneys representing Smartmatic, said in a statement.

Smartmatic had already sued Fox, which also rendered reports of alleged voting machine malfeasance through its Fox News and Fox Business platforms. 

For its part, Dominion has sued all three far right media companies, as well. 

Smartmatic filed its complaint against Newsmax Media in a Delaware superior court. Smartmatic claims that Newsmax "published dozens of reports indicating that Smartmatic participated in a criminal conspiracy to rig and steal the 2020 U.S. election and that its technology and software were used to switch votes from former President Trump to now President Biden."

Newsmax responded with this statement: "While Newsmax has yet to receive or review the Smartmatic filing, Newsmax reported accurately on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress, as well as reporting on Smartmatic’s claims in its defense. Smartmatic’s action against Newsmax today is a clear attempt to squelch the rights of a free press."

Former Republican presidential candidate, senator and CNN political analyst Rick Santorum has joined conservative cable channel Newsmax as senior political analyst and will hit the ground analyzing Tuesday (Nov. 2) with the network‘s coverage of a key election.

The Virginia governor's race between Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe is razor-thin and considered something of a referendum on the continuing impact of former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Youngkin. There is also a key governor's race in New Jersey.

Also read: Newsmax Trumps Up News Team

Santorum joins Dick Morris, Betsy McCaughey and Mark Halperin on Newsmax’s election coverage team.

“I am looking forward to bringing my common-sense, blue-collar conservative voice to Newsmax and their viewers as we turn toward the critical 2022 midterm elections and beyond,“ Santorum said.

Santorum, then a senator from Pennsylvania, was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, as well as a presidential candidate in 2012.

According to Newsmax, it is currently in over 100 million homes, delivered by all the major cable operators, as well as on a number of over-the-top platforms.

Boca Raton-based conservative news net, Newsmax, has opened a Middle East bureau staffed by veteran TV station anchor Daniel Cohen.

Cohen is already reporting from Tel Aviv, where he will be based.

Cohen most recently was morning co-anchor for KTTV's (a Fox affiliate) Good Day L.A.

His resume also includes morning anchor at CBS 8 in San Diego and before that anchor/reporter at WTXL Tallahassee.

Newsmax is in over 100 million homes on "all major cable operators and most OTT platforms," according to the company.

Dominion Voting Systems has filed suit against Herring Networks-owned One America News Network (OAN) and Newsmax Media, seeking $1.6 billion from each media company for what the election machine tech company calls the deliberate spread of false reporting about wide-scale 2020 presidential election voter fraud. 

Dominion is also suing Patrick Byrne, the former Overstock.com CEO, for $1.6 billion. 

The suits follow a similar $1.6 billion lawsuit filed against Fox News in March. 

“Newsmax and OAN both endorsed, repeated, broadcast, and amplified a series of verifiably false lies about Dominion to serve their own commercial purposes,” wrote Dominion lawyer Stephen Shackelford, a partner at Susman Godfrey LLP.

“Patrick Byrne is responsible for bankrolling and promoting a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion that reached millions of people worldwide. We are suing to set the record straight, to vindicate Dominion’s rights, to hold the defendants accountable, and to recover damages for the devastating economic harm done to Dominion’s business,” Shackelford added.

In its suit, Dominion cited bogus reports that it created software algorithms in its voting machines to rig the election, and that it had previously supplied late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez with vote-rigging tech. Among other claims reported on by the defendants, Dominion was also accused of paying kickbacks to government officials to get its machines used in swing states.

Newsmax claims not to have read the suit yet. But the media company seemed to outline its defense: It was merely reporting those unsubstantiated claims, not making them up itself. 

"Newsmax simply reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress—Dominion’s action today is a clear attempt to squelch such reporting and undermine a free press," Newsmax said in a statement. 

In April, Newsmax settled a defamation lawsuit filed against the network by a Dominion executive and issued an apology to the executive, Eric Coomer, stating that Newsmax could find no evidence to support claims aired earlier on the network about Coomer and about the 2020 election.  

Separately and perhaps relatedly, Fox News pundit Dan Bongino has accused the network of doctoring an interview he conducted with former president Donald Trump, removing a portion of the interview in which Trump renewed his election fraud claims from its YouTube archives. 

The interview, conducted by one of Trump's biggest media supporters, was run in full on the linear cable TV network. But the election fraud segment was taken out of the YouTube iteration. 

"This is just as bad as Big Tech," Trump rep Liz Harrington responded. "They are putting President Trump's honest statement, and the concerns of tens of millions of Americans, down the Memory Hole."

A litany of state and federal judges reviewed more than 50 lawsuits filed by Trump and his associates, alleging election fraud, but none of these claims were deemed worthy of litigation. 

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a good year for cable news channels on a number of fronts, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Tuesday (July 13), with Fox News leading the way.

Pew, which issues an annual review of key audience and economic indicators from a variety of sectors and sources, pointed out that the prime time viewership for the three biggest news channels--CNN, Fox and MSNBC--were all up.

Fox's audience increased by over a million viewers in prime time, from 1.92 million to 3.08 million.

CNN's prime time audience was up almost 800,000, from 1.05 million viewers in prime time to 1.8 million, the largest percentage increase among the three at 72% increase, while MSNBC's audience increased by 28%, from 1.6 million to 1.3 million.

Pew noted that Newsmax, which "rose to prominence" during the recent election when former President Trump was disaffected with Fox at times and suggested Newsmax and One America News Network as alternatives to his followers. It averaged 115,000 viewers in prime time, the first year that stat has been available.

When it came to total revenue, each of the Big Three saw 3%-5% increases in 2020, with Fox again topping the list at $2.9 billion, over a billion more than CNN ($1.7 billion) and MSNBC ($1.1 billion) according to Kagan.

That was driven by ad revenue increases across all three since affiliate license fees were slightly down for all of them.

Pew said that while Newsmax made$26 million in revenue in 2020, all of that came from advertising, with the channel reporting no license fee revenue.

When it came to the bottom line, profits for the Big Three were up roughly 6-7%, while Newsmax lost $1.5 million in 2020, again the first time that data was available.

Conservative-leaning cable news network Newsmax has signed former Fox News personality Eric Bolling as a guest host.

Bolling, who left Fox News in 2017 amid sexual harassment allegations, will serve as a guest host at Newsmax beginning June 27. Bolling is slated to host a new show in July, although no specific details were available.

Read Also: Newsmax 'Trumps Up' On-Air Team 

“Eric Bolling is a consummate media professional who isn’t afraid to ask tough questions, get provocative answers and challenge establishment thinking,” Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, said in a statement. “His background in business and politics separates him from the competition.”

Added Bolling: “Like myself, Newsmax is concerned with the direction that Big Tech and Big Corporate Media have taken journalism and our nation. I’m excited to join an organization that delivers programming you can trust.”

The majority of Republicans and Republican leaners (62%) get political news from Fox*, according to a new Pew Research poll. That was compared to 21% who said they got political news from Newsmax TV and One America News (OAN) Network (14%).

The online survey was conducted March 8-14 among 12,045 adults, all members of Pew's American Trends Panel. The margin of error was plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

Also Read: House Dems Pressure Distributors to Justify Carrying Fox News, Others

And while then President Trump touted OAN and Newsmax on Twitter as alternatives to Fox News when he took issue with or umbrage at Fox's coverage of him or his administration, viewers appear to have an appetite or both.

Over three quarters (77%) of adults who get political news from Newsmax said they also got news from Fox. For Newsmax, that figure was 69%.

Democrats were Fox viewers as well. The survey found that about three in 10 Democrats and "leaners" got some political news from Fox, but a statistically insignificant number--Pew said "virtually none"--got political news from Newsmax or OAN.

Among all viewers, 43% of respondents said they got political news from Fox News, about four times the number who said they got it from Newsmax (10%) and six times OAN (7%).

And Fox draws its audience from across the spectrum, with 47% of Black respondents saying they get political news from the network, followed by 47% whie, 41% Hispanic and 29% Asian.

Also Read: House GOP Leaders Demand FCC Denounce Attacks on Fox News, Others

Newsmax and OAN over-index for conservatives. While 10% of moderate and liberal Republicans said they tuned in to Newsmax, 27% of conservatives said they did so. Only 7% of moderate and liberal Republicans watched OAN, compared to 19% of conservative Republicans who said the did.

* For this and the other figures, respondents were asked if they got news from the relevant outlet in the preceding week.

A pair of Republican House members are fighting back after their Democratic colleagues suggested program distributors should rethink carriage of Fox News, OANN and Newsmax TV.

That is according to a letter from Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House Administration Committee, which oversees the logistical workings of the House, including its internal TV system.

They want the House's internal TV system to continue carrying Fox and OANN, and to add Newsmax to the lineup.

Also Read: House GOP Leaders Demand FCC Denounce Attacks on Fox News, Others

Two weeks ago, California Democratic Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney wrote to a dozen cable, satellite and streaming companies calling on them to better combat disinformation — which they principally identified as Fox News Channel, Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN) — and grilling them on what they planned to do about it and why they were still carrying them, if they were (which they were).

"Cancel culture—the phenomenon of silencing free speech because of opposition to the views expressed—is a dangerous trend sweeping the nation and threatening the fundamental rights of Americans," Reps. Jordan and Davis wrote Tuesday (March 9). "Recently, two of our Democrat colleagues pressured a dozen television providers to cancel Fox News, One America News Network (OANN), and Newsmax.

"The House of Representatives can fight back against cancel culture by ensuring that Members and staff have access to these targeted news networks on the House’s internal television system. We therefore ask you, as chair of the committee responsible for internal House operations, to reject cancel culture and ensure that the House’s television system carries Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax."

Also Read: Newsmax CEO Defends Capitol Insurrection Coverage

Fearing Democrats may want to keep those channels, which they have accused of promoting the Jan. 6 insurrection, out of the House, Reps. Jordan and Davis told Lofgren: "Republicans have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler to convene a hearing to examine the dangers of cancel culture. As we wait for Chairman Nadler’s response, the House Administration Committee can do its part by rejecting any effort to cancel news channels available to Members and staff."

They say adding Newsmax would demonstrate the House's commitment to rejecting "cancel culture."

The Media Institute, a media company-backed free speech defender, came out strongly Tuesday (Feb. 23) in defense of a free media and in opposition to a letter from a pair of House Democrats calling on video distributors to defend their carriage of news outlets Fox News, Newsmax TV and OANN against charges--by those Democrats--that they spread disinformation and promote extremism.

Also Read: House Dems Pressure Distributors

In a statement, Media Institute president Richard Kaplar said the letters, which went to Comcast, Cox, Dish, Charter, Roku and others, were an attempt to chill speech of certain outlets by intimidating the companies that distribute them.

While Kaplar said the spread of disinformation and misinformation are of legitimate concern, what was not legitimate was to try to control the content of media outlets.

“The letter from two members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to several cable, satellite, and streaming services demanding that they explain their moral or ethical principles in deciding which channels to carry, and that these content distributors explain why they plan to continue carrying certain news channels, is an affront to the First Amendment," he said.

Also Read: FCC's Carr Says House Dems Are Trying to Censor Newsrooms

The House Energy & Commerce Committee is holding a hearing this week on what the Democratic majority said is traditional media's role in promoting disinformation and extremism.

While some House Democrats this week were trying to discourage carriage of conservative cable/broadband channel Newsmax, it is going in the other direction. Newsmax said Tuesday (Feb. 23) it has launched on Vizio Smartcast, which means it will be available on VIZIO Smart TVs.

Vizio is currently the third largest TV manufacturer in Wi-Fi households with 13% of the market, according to Statista.

Newsmax TV, which got a boost when former President Donald Trump started tweeting his disfavor of Fox and switch to Newsmax and OANN has networks of choice, said it is now the fourth-highest-rated cable news channel.

Also Read: House Dems Pressure Distributors

“Launching on Vizio SmartCast allows our viewers to simply plug in their new televisions and play Newsmax TV,’’ said Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy of the new option. “Newsmax is experiencing exponential growth and provides a much-needed perspective on the issues that many VIZIO viewers care about.”

Newsmax has been much in the news this week after a pair of Hill Democrats accused it of being a source of disinformation and a spur to extremism. Newsmax vigorously disputed the characterization.

Also Read: FCC's Carr Says House Dems Are Trying to Censor Newsrooms

In addition, the network is expected to be a topic of conversation, along with Fox News and OANN, in a Hill hearing Wednesday on traditional media's role in promoting disinformation and extremism, a knock that has mostly been made against Web media giants including Google, Twitter, Amazon and Facebook.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), one of the House impeachment managers and a frequent target of conservative media over a fundraiser who is an alleged Chinese spy, is blasting Newsmax TV in a fundraising email, though one filled with backhanded compliments of a sort.

"After millions of Republicans decided that Fox News wasn’t radical enough, they moved on to start watching Newsmax," said Swalwell. "Apparently taking a page from Spinal Tap's volume settings, he said that Newsmax's propaganda setting is set to 110%."

Also Read: Newsmax Impeachment Cut-Away Generates Own News

The Swalwell email suggested that Newsmax was the new Fox, including quotes from a Vox story (no date was supplied) to the effect that Newsmax had bested Fox News in a key demo and saying Newsmax has a "huge audience" but one primed for conspiracies: "And now the network is attacking Eric[!!]" it said. 

The kicker was a request for a donation ASAP so the congressman's agenda can be heard "over the noxious noise from Newsmax."

Back in January Swalwell conceded that Democratic victories in the Senate and Trump's exit made it harder to "activate grassroots donors."

Rachel Rollar is joining Newsmax TV's new morning show, Wake Up America, with host Rob Finnerty, another new addition. Rollar will report on national and international news and provide social media updates.

Also Read: Newsmax TV Hires Rob Finnerty

One of Rollar's segments will be "Rachel’s Rapid Reactions," to social media posts in real time.

The show airs weekdays at 6:30 a.m.-9 a.m.

Like Finnerty, Rollar is no stranger to early morning TV. She is the former co-host of Wake Up Charlotte on WCNC-TV Charlotte, N.C.

Also Read: Michell Malkin Joins Newsmax TV

Newsmax TV is the conservative outlet that gained added traction during the waning days of the Trump Administration due to the President's tweets about the network.

This story initially misspelled Rollar's name. We regret the error.

Newsweek and Yahoo! news, among others, took notice Wednesday (Feb. 10) of conservative news outlet Newsmax's coverage of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, in particular its decision to cut away from live argument by Trump's lead lawyer.

Also Read: Newsmax TV Hires Rob Finnerty

During what most observers characterized as a rambling opening statement by Trump lead attorney Bruce Castor, Newsmax cut to legal expert Alan Dershowitz to put Castor's opening into context (which Dershowitz delivered while Castor was shown, without sound, on a split screen or thumbnail), but the Harvard law professor was at a loss. "I have no idea what he's doing," Dershowitz said. 

Dershowitz said that after the strong presentation of the House impeachment managers, who are prosecuting the case against Trump for allegedly inciting the Capitol Insurrection--and the sobering video montage of the violence they had produced--as well as the emotional speech of House lead impeachment manager James Raskin (D-Md.)--a former student of Dershowitz--he did not understand Castor's opening, saying "buttering up" the senators did not seem to be effective advocacy and not the kind of argument he would have made.

Also Read: Michell Malkin Joins Newsmax TV

Yahoo! News reported the Dershowitz cut-away not long after it happened, saying Tuesday that it was adding him "to the list of people who have 'no idea' what former President Donald Trump's lawyer was doing during his impeachment trial opening argument."

The Newsweek Web site featured a story Wednesday morning in its "Culture" section recounting Dershowitz's commentary under the headline: "Newsmax Cuts Away From Trump's Impeachment Lawyer During Rambling Speech."

Conservative cable news network Newsmax TV has hired Rob Finnerty to anchor its new 2.5 hour morning show, "Wake up America."

The show airs weekdays from 6:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.

Also Read: Michell Malkin Joins Newsmax TV

Waking up to keep viewers up on the news is hardly a stretch for Finnerty. Before joining the network, he was morning anchor-reporter at WTSP-TV, the CBS affiliate in Tampa. He left the station back in November.

His resume also includes morning anchor duties at KBAK-KBFX Bakersfield, Calif., and KCTV Kansas City, as well as sports anchor-reporter at New England Cable News.

“Not only is Newsmax TV growing at an unbelievable pace, but with everything happening in our country politically, I don’t think there is a better place to be right now," said Finnerty.

Also Read: Herman Cain Joins Newsmax TV

Newsmax's growth is partly due to the shout-outs it got from President Trump as he grew disaffected with his coverage on Fox News, and made that known via his now-defunct twitter feed.

Newsmax anchor Bob Sellers left an interview with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell while on air Tuesday.

On a segment of the right-wing news network's American Agenda, which is hosted by Sellers and Heather Childers, Lindell was asked about Twitter censorship and the social media company's ban of his personal account and the MyPillow account.

His reply?

A diatribe against Dominion voting machines.

Twitter had suspended Lindell after he pushed election-related conspiracy theories and supported former President Donald Trump's actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol insurrection.

After the suspension of his personal account, he began tweeting from the MyPillow company account, prompting Twitter to then suspend that account.

During Lindell's rant, Sellers interrupted him to say that Newsmax supports the outcome of the election and that there have not been any substantiated reports of Dominion voter machine malfunctions.

Lindell continued with his off-topic answer after Sellers, a former WSMV Nashville anchor, asked Lindell again about Twitter censorship. 

Watch the entire exchange and what else led up to Sellers' departure below.

Sellers backpedaled on American Agenda Wednesday, saying he could have "handled the end of the interview differently." He added that Lindell made another appearance on the network Tuesday night "to continue the conversation about cancel culture and the censorship by social media" and will "continue to be an important guest on Newsmax."

Newsmax Media has hired Brian Peterson, a longtime P.R. executive at Fox cable and regional sports networks and the NFL among other places, as senior VP of communications and marketing for the Newsmax TV parent, reporting to CEO Christopher Ruddy.

Ruddy said, in a release: “Brian is considered one of the smartest people in the industry and has a rock-solid track record to prove it. There’s no question Brian will help elevate the Newsmax brand to new heights and we’re thrilled he’s on board with us.”

Also Read: Indie Programmers Slam FCC Proposed Carriage Rule Change 

Peterson has worked at companies such as Fox Cable Networks, Fox Regional Sports Networks and NFL Properties. More recently he worked at the tech PR agency Bospar, at autonomous ocean-drone developer Ocean Aero and at geographic information systems technology firm Esri. At Newsmax, which is rising in visibility as a right-leaning news outlet, he will work with Ruddy on developing external and internal communications efforts as well as television marketing.

“Newsmax is uniquely positioned to deliver news that matters to its viewers,” Peterson said in the release. “Chris Ruddy has put together a team of top-tier media professionals and I am glad to be part of this exciting and game-changing channel as it continues its incredible growth.”

Newsmax Media, which had argued that Charter had jumped the procedural gun in seeking to have two of its Time Warner Cable merger conditions sunset early, went beyond procedure last week to tell the FCC the early sunset would hurt his business. 

That is according to a conversation between Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy and FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, according to an ex parte filing. Ruddy's focus was again the alleged procedural deficiency. 

Related: Newsmax Says FCC Jumped Gun on Charter Petition 

Charter in June asked the FCC to terminate the seven-year ”no data caps or usage-based pricing“ condition as well as the interconnection condition on its 2016 deal to acquire Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. They want the conditions to sunset on May 18, 2021, two years early — in light of the ”dramatic“ changes in the online video marketplace.  

When it imposed the conditions, the FCC said they were to ensure Charter could not “hamper or prevent its current and future online video rivals from expanding, becoming more competitive, or starting up in the first place.” Charter suggests those rivals hardly need protection from the company given that its rival internet-service providers have not had similar conditions and the OTT marketplace has flourished. 

"Mr. Ruddy explained that Newsmax relies on an over-the top-streaming video feed of Newsmax TV to reach Charter subscribers whom it does not reach via traditional linear video packaging," the filing recounted. "As a result, sunsetting the data cap and interconnection conditions will harm Newsmax’s ability to reach viewers and provide Charter with enhanced gatekeeping power." 

Ruddy also said Charter should not have been allowed to introduce new economic info in its reply comments saying that was new material that should have been part of the initial petition. He said the public should get to comment on that new economic declaration. 

Herman Cain, the former businessman and presidential candidate turned TV analyst, has died of COVID-19 at age 74, according to his Web site and various reports, including on Newsmax TV.

Cain had joined the conservative cable network in April as a contributor and analyst. Cain's rise from poverty to business success and a run at the presidency will resonate with the networks' "heartland audience" it explained in making the hire.

Cain was set to launch a weekly show for the network. He had been a Fox contributor, but ended that relationship to start a PAC, according to Dan Calabrese, editor of HermanCain.com, then when that "ran its course," wanted to get back into TV.

"Herman Cain resonated with Americans at every level because they sensed his authenticity," said Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax. "He had a folksy, disarming appeal. You immediately felt his love of country and God."

Cain died only a month after his diagnosis in late June. He was admitted to the hospital July 1. Cain, who was co-chairman of Black Voices for Trump, had attended a rally for President Trump in Tulsa, Okla., June 20 but it is unclear where he got the virus.

According to his Web site, he had been in reasonably good health but was in the "high risk" category due to a history of cancer.

Cain had stints at Pilsbury and Burger King before becoming CEO of Godfathers pizza, then making a run for the presidency in 2012.

Cain is survived by his wife, Gloria, and children Melanie and Vincent.

Newsmax Media has told the FCC its request for comment only two days after Charter sought an early termination of some Time Warner Cable merger deal conditions jumped the gun and created the appearance of favoritism toward the company. 

Charter last month asked the FCC to terminate the seven-year interconnection condition on its 2016 deal to acquire Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks on May 18, 2021, two years early — in light of the ”dramatic“ changes in the online video marketplace. Charter also wants a similar early exit from its ”no data caps or usage-based pricing“ condition.  

Related: Indy Programmers Slam FCC Carriage Rule Change

Newsmax said it had not decided whether to weigh in on the petition itself, but definitely made itself heard on the timing of the request for comment.  

Newsmax points to language in the FCC's merger order that if Charter petitioned to shorten the term of conditions from seven to five years, "the Wireline Competition Bureau shall, nine (9) months prior to the fifth anniversary of the [May 18, 2016] closing date, seek public comment on whether the company has demonstrated that those conditions are no longer in the public interest and will rule on the petition on or before the fifth anniversary of the closing date." 

That fifth anniversary would be May 18, 2021, so the "nine months before" would be Aug. 18, 2020.  

Charter filed its petition June 18, but the bureau put the petition out for public comment only two days later. 

Newsmax said that the bureau has no discretion to move the Aug. 18 date for seeking comment, and should put the proceeding on hold until then. "[The merger order] does not permit the Bureau to seek comment prior to Aug. 18, 2020. Nor does it permit the Bureau to "seek" public comment after August 18, 2020," Newsmax told the commission.  

Newsmax said that whether the behavioral conditions are still appropriate requires the full record, with interested parties, which Newsmax may or may not be, given enough time to gauge that compliance and enough time to compose comments, especially given the pandemic, which has complicated the the process of drafting submissions to the FCC. "By rushing to put the Petition out for comment in only two business days, the Bureau would inappropriately limit the available data and amount of time for assessment of the Petition, creating the appearance of undue favoritism toward the petitioners," Newsmax said. 

Newsmax Media is the parent company of Newsmax TV, the Boomer-targeted conservative 24/7 cable news channel. 

Surgeon Dr. David Samadi has joined Newsmax TV as lead medical contributor. Samadi is director of men’s health and urologic oncology at St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, New York. 

He will comment on coronavirus news and other health issues.  

Samadi has been a medical commentator on Fox News, Newsmax and other outlets. 

Newsmax is now in 70 million homes, according the company, including on Comcast, DirecTV, Dish, Cox and Mediacom.

Lyndsay Keith has been tapped to co-host Spicer & Co., the new Newsmax series hosted by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

The show, which airs at 6 p.m. weekdays, launched this week.

Keith is a former brand strategist at Google and was also deputy communications director of the Republican National Committee and an adviser to the Mitt Romney presidential campaign. Spicer called her a friend and colleague.

“Lyndsay brings the winning combination of a strong camera presence and experience at the RNC and on political campaigns to Newsmax,” said Newsmax chief content officer Elliot Jacobson.

Conservative cable news channel Newsmax TV has grabbed another former Fox News executive.

Jason Villar has joined the channel as VP or research and analysis, in charge of data and ratings analysis.

Villar had been VP of media and market research for conservative cable news powerhouse Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and Fox Digital, coordinating ad sales and marketing initiatives and audience targeting.

“I’ve been watching Newsmax’s tremendous growth as it gives Americans the opportunity to get accurate news,” Villar said in a statement. “I’m proud to be part of Newsmax’s continuing success story.”

Villar's resume includes stints at A&E and MTV Networks.

In November, Sam Moser moved over from Fox News to become Newsmax chief revenue officer and EVP, national sales.

Last May Andy Biggers, Fox VP of broadcast distribution, joined Newsmax as SVP of distribution.