House Republicans Urge DirecTV to Reconsider Deplatforming Newsmax

EXCLUSIVE — RRepresentatives of the Democratic Party are asking DirecTV for reconsideration on dropping the conservative cable channel. Newsmax From its channel lineupThey expressed concern that this decision would affect their ability to reach constituents.

Wesley Hunt (R, Texas): Freshman Rep. Wesley Hunt said that Newsmax’s inability for them to reach an agreement on cable fees is a sign of “apathy.” political decision To censor conservative media is a red flag to the First Amendment. Hunt only received a letter from the Washington Examiner 41 Republican lawmakers signed the co-signing of DirecTV’s owners, AT&T & TPG Capital, for DirecTV before the company went public. “deplatforming” This week’s Newsmax.

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“I am deeply troubled by DirecTV’s decision to remove Newsmax from their lineup of channels,” Hunt said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.  “Deplatforming Newsmax is the latest development in the Left’s ongoing campaign to purge voices they disagree with from the public sphere. DirecTV’s and TPG Capital’s decision will end the dependence on Newsmax by tens to millions of viewers. 

“Newsmax is one of the most watched cable news channels in America; millions of people turn to Newsmax as a source of trusted information. Now more than ever, the American people need access to a free and fair press,” He continued. “I am sure that DirecTV will claim that removing Newsmax from their lineup of channels was purely a business decision, but that is hard to accept when liberal news channels like Vice Media continue to remain on the air.  Vice is a ratings failure for DirecTV, yet they continue to profit from their relationship with DirecTV.” 

The carrier’s letter highlights the priority of the House Republican majority to investigate the politicization media and the interplay between them. Democratic politicians The legacy press. The letter recalls that major TV networks were asked by Democratic members of Energy and Commerce Committee to cease carrying conservative networks Newsmax and Fox News. DirecTV removed pro-Trump OANN in its lineup in April 2022. This was quickly followed by Verizon Fios, which came out of August.

“If Newsmax is removed from DIRECTV, in less than a year House Republicans will have lost two of the three cable news channels that reach conservative voters on a platform that primarily serves conservative-leaning areas of the country,” They wrote the letter.

The lawmakers demanded DirecTV “provide to us the ratings for each of the networks noted above, with comparison data, including set-top box data, on all the other networks that are carried by DIRECTV, and the corresponding fees paid by your company to these networks.”

DirecTV informed the Washington Examiner It responded to the letter. The company is now working to comply with the requests from the lawmakers.

“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,” A spokesperson for DirecTV said this in a statement. “We’ve discussed with Newsmax on several occasions that we’d like to offer their programming, however, the network is now seeking significant fees that we cannot pass on to our broad customer base. Additionally, the same programming offered by Newsmax today is already available at no charge to 100% of U.S. households including our customers via NewsmaxTV.com, YouTube.com and on multiple streaming platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Google Play.”

Hunt’s office stated that Newsmax would be removed from DirecTV’s satellite lineup at 11 :59 on Tuesday. Hunt’s office did not receive a request for comment from Newsmax.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Republicans established a subcommittee on combating the disease in one of their first acts as a member of the new Congress. “government weaponization,” This includes the influence of institutions such as the White House or Department of Justice on media’s approach towards the coronavirus pandemic Stories including Hunter Biden’s laptopCertain viewpoints were censored in this book. Hunt is a member the Judiciary Committee. He indicated that DirecTV could be under investigation as new GOP majority gears up for scrutiny “conservative censorship.”

The complete letter can be found here

This story has been updated to include DirecTV’s statement.