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San Francisco (AFP) – Subscription television service DirecTV has decided not to renew its contract with One America News Network (OAN), an ultra-conservative, conspiratorial and pro-Donald Trump American channel.
“Following a routine internal assessment, we have informed Herring Networks (the owner of OAN, editor’s note) that we do not intend to sign a new contract when the current one expires,” said a holder. DirecTV’s word to AFP on Friday.
The deal is due to end next April, according to a source familiar with the matter. DirecTV, which is owned by US telecommunications giant AT&T, did not detail the reasons for its decision.
OAN is one of the new ultra-conservative players in television news, which are trying to nibble market share from the Fox News benchmark.
Like Newsmax or Real America’s Voice, they refused to recognize Donald Trump’s defeat in the presidential election in November 2020, relaying the conspiracy theories of electoral fraud formulated by the former head of state.
In mid-November 2020, OAN presenter Christina Bobb assured for example that the Democrats had “prepared a coup against the President of the United States”.
Donald Trump himself had invited his supporters to turn to OAN and Newsmax and more and more leading Republican personalities are accepting invitations on these two antennas.
The channel saw its audiences climb in the wake of the election, but DirecTV’s decision is a blow, because it is its largest distributor, according to specialized American media.
OAN did not immediately react to a request from AFP.
A year ago, when supporters of Donald Trump invaded Congress during the ceremony certifying the victory of Democrat Joe Biden, OAN and Newsmax denounced, without any supporting evidence, the supposed infiltration of small groups of ultra-left.
© 2022 AFP
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