For decades Fox News ruled the roost of conservative media. Then along came some Eve Harringtons: Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN or OAN), virulently pro-Trump networks that would go where Rupert Murdoch’s baby wouldn’t, even though its employees don’t believe the nonsense they fling. But now it appears the latter is in more trouble, on top of their billion dollar Smartmatic and Dominion lawsuits.
As per Bloomberg, OAN (or OANN) is getting the boot from DirecTV, the cable provider and its largest distributor. DirecTV’s contact with Herring Networks, which also owns AWE (“A Wealth of Entertainment”), is up in April, and they have decided not to re-up.
“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,” a DirecTV spokesperson revealed in a statement.
For the next three-and-a-half months, DirecTV subscribers will still be able to enjoy the network that Trump loves to call into to rant about this and that. After that, OAN (and AWE) will no longer be among the wealth of channels offered by one of the nation’s largest cable providers.
DirecTV, which is owned by AT&T, played a pivotal role in making OAN a name among conservative media, though it may not have been DirecTV’s fault. OAN forced its way onto their coffers by way of a lawsuit in 2017, which obligated them to carry their station.
But the company that made them can also break them. Such contracts tend to last five years, and those five years are up in April. The loss of their largest distributor may put the kibosh on the network’s plans for expansion, which include a Spanish-language version of the network.
Founded in 2013, OAN didn’t take off until the Trump presidency, especially when the former president got mad at Fox News for being insufficiently dutiful to him, directing his base to OAN instead. The network has had its share of controversies, not the least being when one of its hosts called for the execution of thousands of people he alleged were involved in fictitious voter fraud.
(Via Bloomberg)