NewsMAX

Go ahead. No one is holding you hostage,

DIRECTV will soon launch conservative network, The First, across all three of its video services: DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse.

The First features the most powerful conservative voices in America, including influential hosts Bill O’Reilly, Dana Loesch, Liz Wheeler and Jesse Kelly, and includes live news coverage, original shows and documentaries.

@CaptDan 

This has nothing to do with "liberal". They negotiated and did not come to an agreement so have parted ways. They even have a new conservative channel joining the lineup.

Not liking the results does not make it political.

@Juniper What does seem to point to it being political is that Directv is seemingly unwilling to pay carriage fees to Newsmax when they're willing to pay carriage fees to other lower rated news networks.  Yes, they're subbing a new no-name "conservative" channel in place of Newsmax, but that's hardly an equivalent after Newsmax has built up a following over the past several years of operations.  Frankly, I have no interest in watching Bill O'Reilly and he seems to be the headliner for the new network.  Looking at the television listings, it also appears that "The First" has a very limited amount of programming that they're recycling over and over again.  That makes it an even poorer attempt at a substitute since it appears that they aren't even ready to host a daily news channel.  "The First" seems to be a very poor effort on Directv's part to make it seem that this isn't political, when everything else points to political motivations.

I am still holding out a sliver of hope for now, though the quick introduction of "The First" makes it seem more likely that Directv has no real intention of continuing negotiations with Newsmax.  For now I'll keep calling Directv in hopes that my voice may be heard.  I've been a customer since 2005, long before AT&T was involved, and really don't want that to change as I like the convenience of having all of my content in one place and easily accessible.  However, if Directv has their heels dug in on this stance, they will eventually force my hand and likely lots of others.  If it really is a purely business decision as you suggest, it's likely going to be a poor one for Directv as it's a decision that's going to drive away customers, especially given the optics of it.

Why would they pay carriage fees when Newsmax offers the content free on multiple streaming services, including their own services. The content is live, just like be offered anywhere.

@bcbsncjlj It's already been widely reported that Newsmax was willing to stop streaming their content for free in exchange for receiving carriage fees, so that argument doesn't really hold water. 

Why would they pay carriage fees?  The number 1 reason should be to keep Directv customers happy and paying money to Directv.  I assume that's why Directv pays carriage fees to many other networks, including those lower rated than Newsmax.  Financially, being unwilling to negotiate with Newsmax seems like it should wind up hurting the bottom line with the number of customers they'll likely lose in comparison to the fairly small carriage fee request that Newsmax has made.  

But DTV customers can still get it free no matter what. I sure would not pay for something that's being offered free somewhere else.

@DanNUandVT 

Agents note your account that you wante Newsmax. That is all they can do as they naturally do not have control over those big business decisions. I don't see what calling over and over would accomplish other than waste everybody's time, but I guess if it makes you feel better go right ahead.

At this point I will also agree that it is unlikely for Newsmax to return (though not impossible). Anyone who just can't live without the channel will need to seek another viewing option for it.

I don't claim to know if this is a good decision or not. My point is the decsion not to continue negotiating with Newsmax is DirecTV's right. Many certainly will not like it, but in the end it is the TV provider who may choose what channels to deal with or not. Those channels are not the right of us customers. Our right is to subscribe to the TV provider of our choice (to "vote" with our dollars as some would say). So if the channel stays gone, then passionate viewers must go elsewhere. Otherwise, all they are doing is stamping their feet with nothing to show for it.

@Juniper I fully agree that it's Directv's right whether to negotiate with and/or keep a channel in their lineup.  I have not said otherwise.  It smacks of being a political decision and I don't think it's a wise business decision on their part.  But they're certainly entitled to do it, just as their customers are entitled to look elsewhere.  I would just prefer to see Directv settle their negotiation and bring Newsmax back on air as I would prefer to stay with Directv.  I won't stay with them if they stick to their guns and refuse to give Newsmax a market rate, even though that is their right.

@bcbsncjlj Right now, people can get Newsmax elsewhere for free.  If Directv is trying to promote "cord cutting" then they can use this as a method of pushing customers in that direction.  Seems like a bad business strategy to push customers away and lose revenue, but they're entitled to take that approach if they wish.

DirecTV is not promoting "cord cutting" nor intending to push people away from their own service. What purpose does such a sarcastic statement serve other than further muck up the discussion?

They would have to account for some loss with this decision. Whatever review they did internally, it must have resulted in that not agreeing to Newsmax's offers during negotation was overall worth it for them. Don't know if they were planning for Newsmax to compromise to a better offer or just that they could accept Newsmax being gone.

Because of both sides holding their stance, it seems "sticking to their guns" is how it shall be. Whever you go, just be prepared that the same thing could happen to their carriage of Newsmax (assuming where you go has it) or any other channel.

@Juniper Directv service employees (and some of the high volume posters here) will tell you that you can still watch Newsmax for free by downloading their app or watching on Youtube.  Telling customers that they should watch streaming content from other platforms seems to be pushing customers towards "cord cutting."  I believe that suggestion was also in Directv's official statement.

@DanNUandVT 

DirecTV is not pushing people away from their servcie to other platforms, that is not the case. They are advising other locations that specific channel can be watched. Yes they would prefer if those customers stayed, possibly with using the alternate option for that channel, but they are not telling everyone to cancel DirecTV and go elsewhere.

No company would tell their entire customer base to just cancel and go to another provider. They are just advising on alternatve options for a single channel and part of their reasons for their stance in the negotiation. To say they are pushing everyone to other platforms is distorting the facts.

@Juniper I didn't say Directv was pushing people towards a specific provider, just to "cut the cord" as so many people have done previously.  Suggesting that we obtain our content via streaming from other services rather than on the convenient one-source platform (Directv) that we've been paying a premium to use is exactly that...moving people to streaming content or pushing them to "cut the cord."  I agree that it's a stupid position for Directv to take, but that is their official line at the moment.

This would be so easy for Directv to fix, atleast on its proprietary box.  They have lines for Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, etc.   All they would need to do is allow the end user to add lines to the guide to work with some additional apps, like Newsmax.  Then, it would be like a one stop shop.