Right-wing Newsmax dropped by DirecTV

Many right-wing media consumers got a surprise Wednesday morning when they turned on their televisions to find Newsmax was no longer on the air.

The far-right-leaning cable station was cut from DirecTV’s lineup at midnight after negotiations between the satellite service and the media outlet fell apart.

“On multiple occasions, we made it clear to Newsmax that we wanted to continue to offer the network, but ultimately Newsmax’s demands for rate increases would have led to significantly higher costs that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base,” a DirecTV representative told the Daily News in a statement. “We continually evaluate the most relevant programming to provide our customers and expect to fill this available channel with new content.”

DirectTV noted anyone still wishing to watch Newsmax has other options including YouTube and Amazon Fire TV.

Consistent with its messaging, Newsmax claimed to be a victim of censorship Wednesday.

“This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax,” said the network’s CEO Christopher Ruddy.

More than 40 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to AT&T, which owns DirecTV, warning the provider could face hearings over its unwillingness to work out a deal with Newsmax. DirecTV announced in January 2022 it would cut ties with the similarly sensational right-wing One America News Network, which went off the air in April.