Programming

which seems like a lie since no other network is claiming a raise in costs,

Other networks cost annoucements have nothing to do with this. Carriage agreements with networks do not end all at the same time. And most negotiations, even with cost increases, tend to happen silently behind closed doors. The negotiation with Newsmax was outside the norm, so became very visible to the public.

beside I think it should be considered an upgrade so those that don't want it wouldn't have to increase costs.

Unfortunately that is not how the TV industry works. The vast majority of networks require TV providers to bundle them in packages. They do not allow al-a-carte options. And channels classified as "news" might leave a bad taste in the mouth if they weren't available accross the board but had to be considered a "premium" (like HBO for example).

But I'm very unhappy with this decision and will be looking for other options and cancel my subscription. And going to spend the word for people to do the same.

People who are that upset about the loss of the channel would already be preparing to cancel. To "spread the word" to have others do the same sounds more like you are going to demand that others who don't care as much take the same action you did. Anyone who doesn't already know it is gone most likely seldomly watches the channel (if at all).

I feel the way you handled this was very unexceptable and very unprofessional.

Exactly what about this did you find "unprofessional"? They negotiated, didn't come to an agreement, and at this point seem to have ceased negotiations and chosen to move on. That doesn't seem unprofessional to me, just not the outcome some would want.

I'm not looking for a response, as I don't feel there can be an acceptable response.

You've posted in a public forum, a medium that is intended for others to respond and discuss. If you wern't looking for a response, why post where you would practically guarantee you are going to get responses? Seems counter-intuitive.

For starters my main concern is the true reasons behind this. Yes direct tv claims they negotiated and its due to a price hike...however they are alone in saying that...ceo of Newsmax claims its censorship, which even CNN agrees with. So I'd like to know the truth. Just earlier last year they canceled OAN network for censorship reasons... I personally don't watch Newsmax very often, I just don't like the idea that they want to censor, I feel that there should be balance.

To my understanding, Newsmax was provided to DirecTV for free and now requested to be paid (concept is fair). A "price hike" would I guess technically be correct, but I feel going from no cost to some (unknown) cost should be phrased differently. Don't know if the issue was any cost at all or just more than what DirecTV considered reasonable. Either way, that still means negotiation was about cost.

As DirecTV did negotiate, and even added another conservative network to the lineup, I find that indicates it was not anything remotely close to censorship. Otherwise there would have been no negotiation and they wouldn't have accepted another conservative network on the service.

But in the end there is no mandate, no requirement that DirecTV keep Newsmax (free or not). They can have whatever channels they as a business decide on. We as customers cannot dictate what they have, but we can "vote" with our money. Those that don't like it strongly enough can go elsewhere. But those that do switch must remember the same applies to any provider they go to, meaning channels come and go by the companies decision not customer order.

Hi, there! We appreciate your feedback, and we understand how you feel about this situation. We hoped the broadcaster would continue to offer you their programming through us instead of charging you much higher rates, especially since you can already watch for free on popular streaming platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Google Play.

In this case, the broadcaster just refused any compromise DIRECTV offers and has the right to suspend its programming from DIRECTV customers' local channel lineup. However, we'd love the chance to turn your experience around, so please send us a private message to check the options that we have for you as compensation for this. Helmer, DIRECTV Community Specialist.