Newsmax chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Ruddy accused DirecTV of “discrimination” after dropping the network over alleged failed negotiations on fees.
DirecTV dropped Newsmax on Jan. 24 over the conservative network’s alleged demands for cable fees that “would have led to significantly higher costs that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base.” Ruddy denied this claim in a Tuesday interview with podcast host Todd Starnes, accusing DirecTV of denying them a fee.
“But they said that Newsmax was not eligible for a fee, that we should never get any fee, even one penny. And obviously, we get we are eligible for cable fees under other agreements that would zero out. We’ve been discriminated against. Twenty-two liberal news channels have lower ratings, most of them have lower ratings than Newsmax, and they get higher fees than we requested. Let me tell you what we were requesting. We were asking for about a dollar per year per cable subscriber. Just a dollar per year. I know you’ve been in the cable business, so, you know, this is extremely low,” he said.
The network’s CEO said DirecTV dropped Newsmax in an effort to “de-platform” conservatives. DirecTV dropped One America News Network (OAN) in April 2022 after conducting a “routine internal review.”
“This is a very dangerous moment.,” he said. “I’m not just saying it because I own Newsmax. I’ve been in the media for almost 30 years. We are the number four top-rated cable news channel in the nation. According to Nielsen, we reached 25 million Americans. Hundreds of congressmen, senators, and other officials around the country always come on Newsmax. We’re a real news channel. We’re fair and balanced, too. We’re, as you know, we’re fair. We treat we even have liberals on occasionally and get everybody’s perspective.”
“They’re targeting us politically because I can show you everyone else gets the cable they said to Newsmax,” he continued. “You can’t even get one penny. We’re not ever going to give you a cable fee. Why would they tell us, as a conservative channel we’re not eligible, but everybody else does? In America, that’s discrimination. And I think it’s a prima facie case. It’s apparent and obvious right in your face.” (RELATED: ‘Who Is DirectTV Protecting?’: Newsmax Host Calls Out DirectTV Over End Of Service)
DirecTV faced scrutiny from conservatives over the cancellation of the network, causing prominent political figures to drop their DirecTV subscriptions and also accuse the satellite TV provider of discrimination. Former President Donald Trump urged conservatives to cancel their subscriptions with DirecTV over the cancellation of Newsmax in a Thursday Truth Social post.
“For DIRECTV to drop [the] very popular NEWSMAX, without explanation, will not be accepted. I, for one, will be dropping all association with AT&T and DIRECTV, and I have plenty. This is just one of many reasons why we must WIN IN 2024!!!” Trump wrote.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin claimed the cancellation of the conservative network is the beginning of socialism in America.
