comment: >
  
  Cool, more extortion. I thought this was not wanting to pay bills, but they want a kickback when they bring in no revenue? Lol, no.
context: It’s all part of a familiar theme that Republicans have pushed over the years: that Big Tech and the mainstream media hold disdain for conservatives and want to scrub their voices entirely from the public conversation.
  Of course, rarely is reality in sync with that narrative. And, in this case, Republicans — who purport to embrace a pro-business posture and support the free market — are ignoring glaring facts to effectively help bully a private company into paying for a product it doesn’t want or believe would be financially prudent.
  
  Bingo.  But don’t forget they also claim to be the party of “small limited government”. 
  
  In fact, all signs point to this escalating in the weeks and months ahead. And if history is any guide, we could soon see Republicans drag executives from DirecTV and AT&T, whose shareholders own a majority of the company, before Congress over the dispute.
  
  I hope they do haul these company executives into Congress. Exactly what is going to occur besides GOP congress members showcasing to the world their pathetic display of a victim mentality, and lack of understanding of how basic business decisions are made? >
  
  They're plucky rebels
  They're the silent majority >
  
  Maverick's! You betcha!
  (intentional unnecessary apostrophe for comedic effect)
  (edit fur correkt spellung) >
  
  tldr; Newsmax’s contract used to let their station on for free, the contract ended, the new contract offered to Newsmax required a fee.
  This isn’t complicated. 
  I mean, maybe for the supply-side Jesus idiots. >
  
  You got it a bit backwards. The contract ended and Newsmax demanded a fee paid to them and DirecTV told them to go pound sand.
  Pure, unadulterated censorship!!!11!  /s >
  
  Ohhh. My bad. Thanks for the correction. >
  
  I'm fairly sure it's at the point if they didn't get that fee they'd just not be operating any longer anyways.. >
  
  They still have a YT channel and a website. The dimwitted Right can see the propaganda there. >
  
  "Let the market decide".... unless >
  
  Culture wars and complaining are their thing.  So what else is new?  Oh yeah gas stoves are bad for you!  GTFO! >
  
  Channels either give themselves to the cable companies for free and take most or all of the ad space, or they charge the cable companies a fee to carry them and there's less favorable agreement on ad space. Sometimes it's a mix of both. The ones that demand the big fees are how different cable channel packages and customer rates are figured out. 
  If the network gets a fee, it's for every subscriber who has access to that channel whether they watch it or not. Some channels, like ESPN and Fox News, are watched by a high percentage of customers, so they command larger fees. They also have it in their contract that they are on the most basic service tiers, so they are in the most number of subscribers packages. 
  Newsmax was free, they wanted to get a fee in their new contract and be included in more service tiers. DirecTV said "our customer base is dwindling and doing this would make us increase prices for everybody", Newsmax tried to play hardball, but just like OAN they found out there's not room for too many crazy conspiracy channels and Fox cornered the market.
  Also, with regards to DirecTV having bias against conservatives...
  
  
  In response, DirecTV has tried to placate Republicans. Last week, it added to its lineup the right-wing channel The First, which features hosts such as Bill O'Reilly, Dana Loesch, Liz Wheeler, and Jesse Kelly. >
  
  can we please stop using the word "conservative" as code for white supremacist.... it's confusing >
  
  Why? They are, quite literally, the same thing.
  Not because it's not true, but because it is. >
  
  The whining, delicate elected domestic terrorists need every propaganda outlet they can get to keep their dupes all frothed up and sending that money. >
  
  Uh these disinformation blood baiting shows are dog shit  not fit for human consumption.
  there are porn videos of donkeys fucking grown men that have greater cultural and information value than OAN >
  
  To shreds, you say? >
  
  Indeed. >
  
  So it's blackmail.
  Nice. >
  
  🙄🙄🙄 God the whining gets old. >
  
  I assume they are wanting a fee from the directv now because their ad space isn’t worth anything and isn’t paying the bills and directv doesn’t view the channel as profitable enough to justify paying for  such a niche channel. >
  
  TLDR: GOP/Newsmax attempt to extort DirectTV. >
  
  These hyperbolic (and not reality based) attacks are the same attacks the far right routinely level against “mainstream media”. The end result is directtv will end up caving just to shut them up. 
  Unfortunately caving to the wingnuts is a long term losing strategy that only emboldens them to throw tantrums in the future to demand more concessions and the Overton window just slides further to the right.