One America News White House reporter Chanel Rion asked a question about President Donald Trump during his coronavirus press conference in April 2020. DirecTV did not renew its contract with the network.
Alex Brandon / AP
hide captions
switch captions
Alex Brandon / AP
One America News White House reporter Chanel Rion asked a question about President Donald Trump during his coronavirus press conference in April 2020. DirecTV did not renew its contract with the network.
Alex Brandon / AP
DirecTV is removing One America News Network from its lineup, a surprise move that is sure to deal a blow to the network that has emerged during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Bloomberg report Friday, the satellite TV provider notified OAN’s owner, Herring Networks Inc., that it will no longer stream the company’s two channels when their contract expires. The other channel, A Wealth of Entertainment, sets itself up as a lifestyle channel featuring luxury items.
In a statement, DirecTV said it made the decision “after a periodical internal review.” A spokesperson for DirecTV told NPR that the company considers many factors when deciding whether to renew a contract. The question for DirecTV is whether OAN’s programming will attract a large enough audience, given the increasing costs of programming and more competition for consumers.
In the end, the spokesperson said, business needs drove the decision – and keeping Herring Networks programming simply wasn’t in DirecTV’s best interest.
AT&T, the majority owner of DirecTV, has faced calls to abandon OAN because of its support of conservative conspiracy theories – such as Trump’s hypocrisy and many Republicans that the 2020 presidential election has been stolen.
“The OAN’s support for the ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen and the fact that the organization is constantly spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation about COVID-19, moving it went from being a market participant in the idea market to a seller of malicious lies,” said John Bergmayer, legal director of the nonprofit advocacy group Public Knowledge, speak in November. This group is among the advocates of cable and satellite providers getting rid of OAN.
A spokesperson for DirecTV declined to comment on whether OAN’s specific editorial policies had anything to do with the decision to remove the network, but said that calls from outside groups did not lead to the decision. this.
OAN did not respond to a request for comment.
AT&T faced heavy criticism last year after Reuters report found that the telecom giant played an integral role in the 2013 launch of OAN. “They told us they wanted a conservative network,” OAN founder Robert Herring Sr., told a court hearing, Reuters reported.
AT&T implemented OAN on its U-shaped platform. But after AT&T completed its purchase of DirecTV in 2015, AT&T refused to do OAN or any other Herring programming. Herring sued AT&T, alleging that it broke an oral promise; AT&T agreed as part of an agreement to implement OAN in 2017.
In 2020, an OAN accountant testified that 90% of OAN’s revenue came from contracts with AT&T-owned platforms like DirecTV, Reuters reported. In response to a Reuters report, AT&T refuse have a financial interest in OAN’s success.
Bloomberg reports that the contract between DirectTV and Herring Networks will expire in early April. OAN is still available on Verizon FiOS and several other platforms, including Herring Networks-owned KlowdTV.
