DirecTV to axe conservative One America News Network from its lineup

DirecTV plans to drop conservative One America News Network from its lineup, Bloomberg reported.

At the time of this reporting, no other major U.S. cable providers carry OAN.

What are the details?

The nationwide satellite television broadcaster recently notified Herring Networks, OAN's owner, that it would no longer carry the company's channels.

In a statement obtained by Bloomberg, the company said, “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.”

The contract with Herring Networks is set to expire in April.

At the time of this reporting, Herring Networks has yet to issue a public statement on the matter.

DirecTV began offering OAN to its customers in 2017 after Herring Networks forced the company's hand by suing the cable provider to carry its channels.

Reuters reported that the move could "financially cripple" OAN.

"The announcement by DirecTV, which is 70% owned by AT&T, comes three months after a Reuters investigation revealed that OAN’s founder testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network," the report noted, citing an October report. "Court testimony also showed that OAN receives nearly all of its revenue from DirecTV."

The news agency added that during a 2020 court proceeding, an OAN lawyer said, "If Herring Networks, for instance, was to lose or not be renewed on DirecTV, the company would go out of business tomorrow.”

What else is there to know about this?

In response to the news, former President Donald Trump said that DirecTV targeted OAN over its politics and suggested a boycott against AT&T.

"Maybe what we should do is not use AT&T," he said.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said that the news was a “victory for us and the future of democracy.”

“At a time when we are seeing our rights infringed upon, OAN only seeks to create further division," he said. "We must continually choose truth over lies and common sense over hysteria.”

OAN is currently litigating what is reported to be a billion-dollar defamation suit, which was filed by Dominion Voting Systems and argued that the network was complicit in deliberately spreading defamatory information about the company's role in the 2020 presidential election.