After more than 258 articles attacking DirecTV for dropping its TV channel and trying to goad Republican politicians into demanding government interference into a business decision, Newsmax mysteriously stopped the attacks after March 10. The apparent reason why later became clear: Newsmax was in serious negotiations to get back on DirecTV. When that return was announced on March 22, Newsmax published not a biased news article crowing about it defeated the evil DirecTV and its “censorship” but, rather, a press release apparently written by DirecTV (if its insistence of putting DirecTV in all caps is any indication) in which Newsmax was made to walk back its incendiary anti-DirecTV rhetoric and emphasize that it was, in fact, a business dispute over carriage fees:
DIRECTV and Newsmax Media, Inc. announced today that they reached a business agreement for a multi-year distribution deal that will return the Newsmax channel to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse on March 23, 2023.
When the two companies were initially unable to agree on financial terms to extend their carriage agreement, DIRECTV lost the rights to distribute the programming on Jan 25, 2023. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in the pay TV industry, and often consumers are caught in the middle.
“Newsmax recognizes and appreciates that DIRECTV clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones,” said Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax. “As a standalone company, DIRECTV gave Newsmax its start nearly a decade ago as it continues to do with upcoming news networks, which is why we are pleased to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that will deliver our network to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse customers over the next several years.”
“This resolution with Newsmax, resolving an all-too-common carriage dispute, underscores our dedication to delivering a wide array of programming and perspectives to all our customers,” said Bill Morrow, Chief Executive Officer for DIRECTV. “Through our persistent negotiations, we reached a resolution under mutually-agreeable business terms allowing us to deliver the conservative news network at the right value – a reflection of the free market at work.”
[…]This agreement marks DIRECTV’s latest successful resolution of a carriage dispute, an unfortunate but increasingly frequent occurrence involving nearly every pay TV and streaming provider attempting to keep rising consumer costs in check. Over the past five years alone, the industry has endured no less than 140 distinct disputes pitting programmers or station groups against their primary distributors. While some resolve in as little as a few hours to days or weeks, others last several months to more than a year. During that same timeframe, DIRECTV has resolved public disputes with approximately 50 programmers or station groups, typically lasting a few days or weeks, but routinely extending to several months in some instances.
It appears that one of the conditions for Newsmax to return to DirecTV was that it had to walk back its weeks of attacks over purported “censorship.” As we’ve noted, Newsmax rarely noted that DirecTV replaced Newsmax with another right-wing channel, The First, since doing so would undermine that argument.
Newsmax published a minimum of crowing about the restoration from the same folks it called out to attack DirecTV — but even then, it counteracted the rhetoric to stick within the terms of that apparent agreement. An article touting how Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said that Newsmax’s return means a “victory for free speech over powerful corporations that want to put their thumbs on the scale of the national conversation” also includes the Ruddy quote about how DirecTV “supports diverse voices, including conservative ones.” Other articles did the same thing:
- W.Va. AG: Newsmax Back on DirecTV ‘Win for America’
- Gov. Abbott: Newsmax Back on DirecTV ‘Huge Win’
- National Religious Broadcasters Hails Newsmax Return to DirecTV
- Sen. Ted Cruz to Newsmax: Return to DirecTV ‘Big Victory for Free Speech’
Another piece of evidence suggesting that the walkback was mandatory: For a few days after its return, Newsmax ran a message in its top-of-page breaking-news banner space stating: “Newsmax returns to DIRECTV, a leader in conservative news. DIRECTV never sought to limit conservative voices.”
The banner also linked to the press release announcing Newsmax’s return. After that, Newsmax began running a box on the right side of its home page stating an almost identical message.
In the end, it’s not sure what was gained was worth the cost. Newsmax got its place back on Newsmax, but it’s unclear whether it got an licensing fee — the press release stated that it’s returning “at no additional cost to customers,” suggesting it’s not getting one — but it’s clearly being forced to tone down its rhetoric and previous malicious attacks on DirecTV in doing so. Of course, given the legal trouble Newsmax has found itself in over the past couple years regarding its false and incendiary rhetoric, that’s not exactly a bad thing.