John Shiffman

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – One America News was dropped late Friday by America’s largest satellite provider. The move could prove financially disastrous for Rightwing TV Network known for spreading conspiracy theories and supporting the 2020 election.

The announcement by DirecTV, which is 70% owned by AT&T (NYSE:), comes three months after a Reuters investigation revealed that OAN’s founder testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network. OAN gets almost all of its revenue through DirecTV according to testimony in court.

The Reuters report drew calls from some liberal groups for AT&T and DirecTV to drop OAN, a favorite of former President Donald Trump, because the network has become a key source of false claims about the election and COVID vaccinations.

Joe Biden stated Thursday that COVID conspiracy theories put lives at stake. “I make a special appeal to social media companies and media outlets: Please deal with the misinformation and disinformation that’s on your shows,” Biden said. “It has to stop.”

Herring Networks of San Diego, an entrepreneurial family in conservative technology, owns OAN. Robert Herring Sr., the CEO of OAN, did not return phone and email requests for comment. He stated that his network was an invaluable voice in an interview with Reuters last summer. “If I think I’m right, I just go for it,” he said.

DirecTV, with approximately 15 million subscribers, is by far OAN’s largest carrier. According to testimony by OAN’s accountant reviewed by Reuters, DirecTV provided 90% of the conservative network’s revenue.

“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,” DirecTV said in a statement.

In the coming months, OAN and DirecTV’s contract will expire. DirecTV began airing OAN in April 2017, a deal that began shortly after OAN and AT&T settled a lawsuit over alleged oral promises during negotiations.

On Twitter (NYSE:), some conservatives expressed outrage that DirecTV and AT&T planned to drop OAN. “Corporate Media is crushing what little dissent remains,” tweeted former Fox News host Lou Dobbs.

However, there are powerful outlets for the pro-Trump side on TV and online. These include Fox News, the conservative cable news channel founded by Rupert Murdoch.

Liberals rejoiced at the announcement. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called it “a victory for us and the future of democracy.” In a statement, Johnson added: “At a time when we are seeing our rights infringed upon, OAN only seeks to create further division. … We must continually choose truth over lies and common sense over hysteria.”

This news comes after a lawsuit was filed by Georgia election workers on December 23, in which they accused OAN, Rudy Giuliani and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to have made false claims regarding their vote-rigging activities following the 2020 election. State authorities debunked the claims. OAN denied any wrongdoing.

DirecTV declined to elaborate on the reasons it was dropping OAN. Earlier, an AT&T spokesman said the company airs “many news channels that offer viewpoints across the political spectrum.”

The Reuters investigative report in October cited sworn statements in which OAN’s founder and his son testified that the inspiration for the conservative network came from AT&T executives.

“They told us they wanted a conservative network,” the elder Herring said during a 2019 deposition. “They only had one, which was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other [leftwing] side. When they said that, I jumped to it and built one.”

During a 2020 court proceeding, a transcript shows, an OAN lawyer told the court, “If Herring Networks, for instance, was to lose or not be renewed on DirecTV, the company would go out of business tomorrow.”