Why Newsmax Was Dropped by DirecTV

Gun Rights

At 11.59 ET on January 24, Newsmax ceased to be aired on DirecTV after a row over a new deal went unresolved. The two sides have offered competing narratives as to why the news channel was dropped.

DirecTV said it would have liked to continue offering the channel, but that Newsmax demanded a fee—as other major news channels do—to supplement advertising revenue. The channel and a raft of GOP congressmen have claimed the channel was “de-platformed” for being a conservative outlet.

“On multiple occasions, we made it clear to Newsmax that we wanted to continue to offer the network,” a DirecTV spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”

The company added that Newsmax would continue to be accessible for free on its website, YouTube, and streaming platforms. It expects to replace the channel’s slot now that the contract with Newsmax has lapsed.

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Newsmax signage
Signage for the Newsmax conservative television broadcasting network is displayed at a broadcast TV booth at the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas on May 28, 2022. The news channel has appealed to Trump-supporting conservatives disaffected by coverage from other right-wing networks.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Cable companies are generally required to pay a carriage fee to established networks. While the fee is worked out in individual deals between the company and the network, it is usually dependent on how valuable the network is for attracting subscribers. According to The Daily Beast, under the arrangement between Newsmax and DirecTV, the cable provider did not pay a carriage fee, but Newsmax also did not pay a license fee—which is usually suspended for fledgling networks—to be hosted on cable.

“We deliver Newsmax to our national base of satellite and IPTV customers today at no cost to the programmer or our customers, ultimately offering Newsmax the ability to generate considerable advertising revenue at no cost,” DirecTV stated previously.

Newsmax’s average primetime ratings had been wavering between roughly 130,000 and 230,000 nightly viewers in the past six months, according to USTVDB figures, with a peak of 277,000 for the week ending November 20, 2022.

Following that, ratings dropped sharply to 123,000 and had not recovered by January. The final recorded primetime slot, on January 22, received 113,000 viewers.

However, Newsmax—which has appealed to Trump-supporting conservatives disaffected by coverage from other right-wing networks—has come out fighting: on Tuesday, hours before its feed was cut, it published an article alleging DirecTV had lied about Newsmax asking for a carriage fee while keeping its free streams.

“That is simply false. DirecTV knows that no operator pays a fee while Newsmax streams free,” Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media, said in the piece. DirecTV suggested Newsmax was planning to drop its streaming.

The article said that it was the second time DirecTV had “de-platformed” a conservative news channel in the past year, after dropping the One America News Network in 2022.

The platforming issue has also been taken up by Texas Republican representative Wesley Hunt, who sent a letter on January 20 to the CEOs of DirecTV, majority owner AT&T, and minority shareholder TPG Capital—co-signed by 41 other GOP representatives including James Comer, Matt Gaetz, and Lauren Boebert—protesting the decision.

DirecTV sign
DirecTV signage on display during its Super Saturday Night 2019 at Atlantic Station on February 2, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. The cable provider has been accused of “de-platforming” conservative news channels.
Getty Images for DIRECTV/Dimitrios Kambouris

The lawmakers accused DirecTV of “actively working to limit conservative viewpoints on its system” which “suppresses political discourse and hamstrings our ability to connect with our constituents.”

Hunt alleged that elected Democrats had been working with companies to limit viewpoints they deem to be misinformation, which could be viewed as an infringement of First Amendment rights. He asked the cable provider to respond to their concerns with ratings data.

In a response to Hunt, dated January 23 and seen by Newsweek, Michael Hartman, DirecTV’s chief external relations officer, noted that the cable company had agreed to allow Newsmax to stream online for free to 55 million households, despite being a paid-for channel. But, he wrote, “Newsmax proposes to change this model.”

“In effect, it has stated that if DirecTV and other Pay TV operators will pay it the fees it wants, then it will cease transmitting its current channel to the 55 million U.S. households that don’t have a Pay TV service,” he added. “In other words, 55 million U.S. households would no longer be able to access Newsmax in its current form unless they acquire a Pay TV subscription. Under this change in model, who’s doing the de-platforming? Certainly not DirecTV.”

Hartman said DirecTV had been looking to continue its arrangement with Newsmax on the same terms as before, which included nationwide distribution and waiving its right to sell two minutes an hour of advertising time on the network. The carrier initiated a short-term extension to the carriage agreement to allow negotiations to continue, he said.

“In no way is DirecTV working to limit conservative viewpoints,” he told the representatives. Noting Newsmax’s Nielsen viewing figures accounted for just 0.1 percent of households, Hartman added: “If Newsmax ceases to authorize our carriage of their channel, our customers will still have access to their clearly preferred conservative news channel, Fox News, which has more viewers than MSNBC, CNN and Newsmax combined.”

It remains to be seen whether Newsmax’s axing is the result of dwindling ratings in the face of wider streaming adoption, or an attempt to limit the conservative outlet’s reach. What we do know is, despite a petition to bring Newsmax back, the channel won’t be on the tube for the foreseeable.

Newsweek has contacted Newsmax for comment.

Update 01/25/23, 12:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from DirecTV and Michael Hartman.

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