After political clamor, DirecTV will air Newsmax again

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After political jib-jabs in Washington, DirecTV will restore Newsmax to its lineup. "DirecTV dropped Newsmax in January over what it described as strictly a business matter — disagreement over Newsmax's demand that it receive fees for being aired by DirecTV, as other channels typically are," reports Paul Farhi of The Washington Post. "But the issue quickly became political; several dozen House Republicans signed a letter suggesting that DirecTV was shutting down a conservative voice and demanded that it be restored. . . . Some Republicans who rely on Newsmax for interviews and favorable television exposure called for the House to investigate the channel’s 'deplatforming'."

DirectTV said that their "'successful negotiation with Newsmax was based on economics and protecting our customers from higher costs — not politics or ideology,'" Farhi writes. "Newsmax founder and CEO Christopher Ruddy commended DirecTV, saying it 'clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones.'. . . DirecTV, which reaches about 13 million subscribers, said its programming would return without additional cost to customers."

Newsmax reaches around 50 million households via cable, but "distribution by DirecTV is important because it gives the network another broad platform to sell advertising," Farhi reports. "DirecTV had said in its negotiations with Newsmax that it was willing to continue carrying the channel without paying a cash fee for it. . . . Newsmax, however, held out for compensation, arguing that other channels receive it. . . . DirecTV did not release terms of the multiyear agreement."

Farhi explains, "Newsmax has often veered to the right of Fox News in its coverage and commentary. . . . Its ratings spiked at the end of 2020, after Trump expressed his dismay with Fox News's coverage of his false claims that the presidential election was stolen. Newsmax continued to emphasize Trump's narrative, winning disaffected Fox viewers. . . . After its brief post-election surge in popularity, Newsmax's viewership began to wane as President Biden assumed office. It averaged 184,000 viewers during prime-time hours, according to Nielsen figures, ranking it far behind Fox (2.4 million), MSNBC (1.2 million) and CNN (735,000)."