Massive corporations rarely see red or blue; they see green. While Republicans yell about being cancelled and their on-air echo chambers being targeted, they know it’s all a distraction. They’re just counting on their already aggrieved viewership not to know that.
DirecTV, which is owned by one of the largest of the massive corporations, AT&T, announced officially on Monday that they would not be renewing their contract with One America News Network (OANN), a pro-Trump conspiracy theory network who purports to report the “news.” Their “talent” has become notorious for their disruptive actions, making a spectacle of themselves in news conferences and press briefings. The announcement, which is based on nothing more than viewership and ratings, came as a surprise to no one except the far right voters convinced that the announcement is some left-wing conspiracy to silence conservatives.
Bloomberg reports that:
‘In recent weeks, OAN and its supporters have tried to pressure DirecTV to keep the network. In March, Herring Networks suedAT&T and DirecTV, alleging breach of contract. In the lawsuit, Herring said that “the economic consequences of losing carriage with DirecTV could be devastating to OAN.”’
Why wait until April?@DirecTV says it will sever ties with far-right network @oann One America News https://t.co/Twu8pk4dE9 @foxnews @newsmax @gop #AllTheRestOfTheCraziesInTheUSA
— Geoff Ninecow (@geoff9cow) January 15, 2022
The smokescreen is nothing more than an attempt to convince Trump supporting Republicans that their leader’s claims that white conservatives are put-upon as the most oppressed group in America is correct, that the whole world is against them, and that they must either vote for internet trolls like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan to “own the libs” or storm the Capitol Building to attack the U.S. government. In truth, the move is about ratings. OANN suffers from their dismal viewership numbers and their talent is leaving in droves for other, more popular networks.
According to The Daily Beast:
‘According to insiders—including current Newsmax staffers—who spoke with The Daily Beast, the uptick in OAN staffers abandoning ship can be chalked up to the network’s minuscule ratings, its lower pay, and the fact that Newsmax is only ever-so-slightly less toxic in its diehard MAGA politics.’
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump:
“AT&T is closing the very popular One America News Network (OAN) because too many people are watching. They couldn’t put up with that any longer. Conservatives/Republicans should boycott Direct TV, and while you’re at it… pic.twitter.com/3wbFbgVIlN
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) January 30, 2022
Viewership has largely shifted from OANN to Newsmax, another far right conservative network with a larger viewership and higher ratings. In addition to AT&T losing money on the network, they’re also faced with the prospect of lawsuits related to some of OANN’s crazier reporting.
‘OAN was recently sued for defamation by two poll workers in Georgia who accuse the far-right network of knowingly spreading misinformation about them, including falsehoods that they logged illegal ballots for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The December lawsuit names Herring Sr., president Charles Herring and chief White House correspondent Chanel Rion, as well as Rudolph W. Giuliani, who served as a personal lawyer to Donald Trump.’
Conservative news channel One America News Network is losing its biggest TV provider https://t.co/w6IMsiMqLQ
Excellent! They are my provider. Direct TV
— Heart of my country (@cindi_feriby) January 15, 2022