DirecTV faces backlash for dropping news channel OAN

The move could cause a backlash against the satellite-TV company AT&T, in which AT&T holds a 70% stake.

DirecTV has been exposed to social media backlash as it dropped the news channel One America Network OAN and its sister channel Wealth of Entertainment.

The satellite provider, which is now a standalone company after being spun-off from the former corporate parent AT&T T-Get Free Report, still holds a 70% stake in the company, did not claim a political motive for the move.

After a routine internal review, we told Herring Networks that we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement ends, a DirecTV spokesperson said in a statement.

Both OAN and Wealth of Entertainment are owned by Herring Networks, which was founded by Robert Herring Sr.Herring Sr.

Far right-wing voices see the move as political and took to Twitter to express their disdain.

The idea that OAN was being censored for political reasons was trended on the social media site. According to Pew Research, OAN captured 7% of people who identify as Republican. The relatively small audience, however, has been very dedicated to the channel.

OAN was founded in 2013 and rose to prominence during the Donald Trump presidency. The network bills itself as a news channel, but it has generally operated as a supplier of unchecked information designed to bring in right-wing viewers.

OAN, which rose to prominence after the triumph and tumult of the administration of then-President Donald Trump, has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election, according to the Jerusalem Post.

According to a Reuters investigation, AT&T played a major role in OAN created by Herring.

In a deposition seen by Reuters in the year 2019, Herring said they told us they wanted a conservative network. They had only one, which was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other left-wing side. When they said that, I jumped to it and built one. The court records show that AT&T, which used to own DirecTV, provided OAN with tens of millions of dollars. According to a 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant, ninety percent of OAN's revenue came from a contract with AT&T owned television platforms, including satellite broadcaster DirecTV.

The internet and phone giant has denied it has been a source of funding for OAN.