fbpx

BULLETIN: DirecTV Surrenders, Restores Newsmax to Platform

DEVELOPING STORY: DIRECTV and Newsmax Media, Inc. announced today that they reached a business agreement for a multi-year distribution deal that will return the Newsmax channel to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse on March 23, 2023.

“This is terrific news and it’s a great lesson for any company that declares war on conservatives,” said Newsmax contributor Todd Starnes. “When freedom-loving patriots stand together we will always win the day.”

 Click here to sign up for Todd’s daily podcast – heard by 1.2 million Americans.

When the two companies were initially unable to agree on financial terms to extend their carriage agreement, DIRECTV lost the rights to distribute the programming on Jan 25, 2023. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in the pay TV industry, and often consumers are caught in the middle.

Are you a fan of Newsmax?

“Newsmax recognizes and appreciates that DIRECTV clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones,” said Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax. “As a standalone company, DIRECTV gave Newsmax its start nearly a decade ago as it continues to do with upcoming news networks, which is why we are pleased to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that will deliver our network to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse customers over the next several years.”

“This resolution with Newsmax, resolving an all-too-common carriage dispute, underscores our dedication to delivering a wide array of programming and perspectives to all our customers,” said Bill Morrow, Chief Executive Officer for DIRECTV. “Through our persistent negotiations, we reached a resolution under mutually-agreeable business terms allowing us to deliver the conservative news network at the right value – a reflection of the free market at work.”

Newsmax will be available to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse at no additional cost to customers, rejoining the expanded diversified news lineup, which now includes six 24/7 news networks – CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, and The First.

This agreement marks DIRECTV’s latest successful resolution of a carriage dispute, an unfortunate but increasingly frequent occurrence involving nearly every pay TV and streaming provider attempting to keep rising consumer costs in check. Over the past five years alone, the industry has endured no less than 140 distinct disputes pitting programmers or station groups against their primary distributors. While some resolve in as little as a few hours to days or weeks, others last several months to more than a year. During that same timeframe, DIRECTV has resolved public disputes with approximately 50 programmers or station groups, typically lasting a few days or weeks, but routinely extending to several months in some instances.

Be sure to read my book, “Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left From Killing a Nation.” It’s available at ToddStarnes.com.

  • The Todd Starnes Podcast
  • Todd Starnes
  • https://chrt.fm/track/23284G/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/ec639eda-812c-4db1-85c8-acfd010f9fef/06a0c5d4-d5a3-4f9b-8db8-b140013a7696/audio.mp3?track=false
  • https://chrt.fm/track/23284G/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/ec639eda-812c-4db1-85c8-acfd010f9fef/06a0c5d4-d5a3-4f9b-8db8-b140013a7696/audio.mp3?track=false