Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said Congress should investigate AT&T and DirecTV over their decision to drop Newsmax and One America News Network last year.
“I think there shouldn’t be an ideological litmus test when these big corporations make the decision to make or break a news network or any type of network,” DeSantis said. “They will give various reasons why they don’t want to do it, but the reality is that they have so much other content that is looked at very lightly and they insist on it and it seems like the one America News and the Newsmax, that do, be a target. So I think it warrants an investigation.”
His comments at a Tuesday news conference come as little surprise, as the potential 2024 presidential nominee has seized on other cases of alleged corporate bias. In the case of The Walt Disney Co., cruise lines and social media companies, DeSantis championed efforts to punish or rein in the private sector, turning away from the traditional GOP hands-off approach to business.
DeSantis told reporters that Congress “needs to make sure that there is no intellectual discrimination when it comes to what people can see.”
DirecTV dropped Newsmax last week, claiming the conservative channel charged “significant fees” when it was already available for free on streaming platforms. DirecTV then announced it would add The First, another conservative channel with hosts including Bill O’Reilly and Dana Loesch.
However, according to Newsmax, the free-to-air channel will be shut down later this year and DirecTV has added a little-known channel in place of an established brand. “DirecTV believes that Newsmax should receive ZERO cable royalties, even though it is the fourth highest paying cable news network in the country according to Nielsen,” the company said. Some lawmakers have called for hearings in Congress.
Cable and satellite distributors must abide by program transmission rules, but they are concerned with preventing a distributor from favoring channels it owns over channels it does not. The industry is likely to challenge any content regulation as a violation of its First Amendment rights.
Author: Ted Johnson
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
