Newsmax host Chris Salcedo called out DirecTV Thursday after the satellite TV provider stopped carrying the conservative network.
“Even though Newsmax is the fourth-most-watched cable news channel in America, DirecTV has taken the position that they will continue to pay left-wing channels large licensing fees, but they will insist that Newsmax not be treated equally by paying us zero,” Salcedo said at the start of his show. “It is my belief that Newsmax isn’t the real target here. The real target is any worldview that opposes extremist left-wing thought. Who is DirecTV protecting by deplatforming Newsmax?”
DirecTV dropped Newsmax Tuesday night, claiming that they could not come to an agreement on cable fees with the conservative network. The satellite TV provider announced Thursday it was picking up The First, a channel featuring conservative commentary.
WATCH:
“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 emailed to the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday. “You can’t replace a Cadillac with a Honda.”
“The facts remain: DirecTV dropped two of the most popular conservative channels in the past year, replacing them with a channel that has no rating — while still carrying over 20 liberal-leaning news channels. In our negotiations, DirecTV made clear that despite NEWSMAX being the #4 cable news channel in America, they never would pay us any license fee while paying all 22 liberal news channels,” the statement continued.
Democratic representatives sitting on the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote DirecTV and other providers in February 2021, urging the company to drop Newsmax, Fox News and One America News Network (OAN). DirecTV dropped OAN in April 2022 “following a routine internal review.”
Salcedo claimed Newsmax sought “little more than one dollar” from DirecTV “for a whole year.”
Republicans called out DirecTV over dropping Newsmax, with Republican Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida saying DirecTV “caved to the woke mob and partisan demands of Democrats.”
A spokesman for DirecTV declined to comment on the matter after being reached by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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