AT&T slammed after dropping Newsmax

[ad_1]

AT&T headquarters in Dallas. Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump and several other prominent conservatives are criticizing Dallas-based AT&T, which jointly owns satellite company DirecTV, for dropping right-wing cable channel Newsmax.

What happened: DirecTV pulled Newsmax from its lineup last Tuesday night. DirecTV said it wanted to keep Newsmax on its list of bundled channels, but couldn’t due to increased Newsmax fees.

Why it matters: Dozens of Republican lawmakers signed a letter to AT&T and DirecTV executives, alleging the decision to ax the channel amounted to liberal censorship of conservative media.

On Thursday, Trump called the decision “a blow to the Republican Party and to America itself,” and said “the radical left seems to have taken over the mind and soul of AT&T. “. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado and communications chair for the House Freedom Caucus, suggested that the House Oversight Committee investigate AT&T.

Flashback: There were similar cries last year, when DirecTV axed conservative news network OANN.

By the numbers: DirecTV has 13 million subscribers, per CNN.

Newsmax averaged less than 150,000 total daily viewers in 2022, according to The Hill. By comparison, a daily average of 1.4 million people watched Fox News, 733,000 watched MSNBC and 568,000 watched CNN.

The Plot: AT&T, the world’s largest communications company, has quietly become a powerful player in conservative politics. In 2021, the company came under fire from progressives for contributing to conservative politicians who passed Texas’ abortion ban.

On the other side: Rob Thun, director of content for DirecTV, said in a press release that the company “appreciates different viewpoints and perspectives and will always strive to preserve broad choice from a wide variety of services entertainment and information”.

DirecTV recently added another conservative network, The First, to its services.

Back to reality: Newsmax is still available to stream on YouTube, Roku, and the network’s own website.

[ad_2]