DirecTV loss could ruin right-wing One America News

Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith speaks to a reporter from the One America News Network (OANN) from a bus window after a trip around part of the U.S.-Mexico border on a Texas Highway Patrol vessel in Mission, Texas, USA, 26. March, 2021. REUTERS / Go Nakamura

WASHINGTON, January 15 (Reuters) – The largest satellite provider in the United States said late Friday that they will drop One America News, a move that could economically paralyze the right-wing television network known for supporting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

The announcement from DirecTV, which is 70% owned by AT&T, comes three months after a Reuters survey revealed that OAN’s founder testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network. Court affidavits also showed that OAN receives almost all of its revenue from DirecTV.

To read the Reuters report, click here: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-oneamerica-att/

The Reuters report drew calls from some liberal groups to AT&T and DirecTV to drop OAN, a favorite of former President Donald Trump, because the network has become a key source of false claims about the election and covid vaccinations.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden said that COVID conspiracy theories endanger lives. “I especially appeal to social media companies and media: Please deal with the misinformation and misinformation that is on your shows,” said Biden. “It must stop.”

OAN is owned by San Diego-based Herring Networks, a family of conservative technology entrepreneurs. CEO Robert Herring Sr. did not respond to requests for comment via email and phone. In an interview with Reuters last year, he said that his network gave an important voice. “If I think I’m right, I go for it,” he said.

DirecTV, with approximately 15 million subscribers, is OAN’s largest operator by far. According to testimony from OAN’s accountant reviewed by Reuters, DirecTV provided 90% of the conservative network’s revenue.

“We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires,” DirecTV said in a statement.

The OAN-DirecTV contract is set to expire in the next few months. DirecTV began broadcasting OAN in April 2017, an agreement that began shortly after OAN and AT&T settled a lawsuit over alleged oral promises during negotiations.

On Twitter, some conservatives expressed outrage that DirecTV and AT&T were planning to drop OAN. “Corporate Media is crushing the little disagreement that remains,” tweeted former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs.

However, the pro-Trump right has strong outlets on TV and online, including Fox News, the conservative cable news outlet founded by Rupert Murdoch.

Liberals cheered on the news. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called it “a victory for us and the future of democracy.” In a statement, Johnson added: “At a time when we see our rights being violated, OAN seeks only to create further division.” We must constantly choose truth over lies and common sense over hysteria. “

The news also follows a lawsuit filed Dec. 23 by two Georgia election workers who accused OAN and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani of spreading false vote-rigging allegations about them in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. The allegations were denied by state authorities. OAN has denied that they have done anything wrong.

DirecTV did not elaborate on why they planned to drop OAN. Earlier, an AT&T spokesman said that the company broadcasts “many news channels that offer views across the political spectrum”.

Reuters’ investigative report in October quoted sworn statements in which the OAN’s founder and his son testified that the inspiration for the conservative network came from AT&T leaders.

“They told us they wanted a conservative network,” Elder Herring said during a 2019 landfill. “They only had one, which was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other. [leftwing] page. When they said that, I jumped in and built one. “

During a trial in 2020, a transcript shows, an OAN lawyer told the court: “If Herring Networks, for example, were to lose or not be renewed on DirecTV, the company would go out of business tomorrow.”

Reporting by John Shiffman. Additional reporting by Jason Szep. Editing Ronnie Greene

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