Verizon Drops OAN from TV Product

Conservative network One America News (Right bias) has been dropped from Verizon's television product after its contract with the network expired.

A Verizon spokesperson said "negotiations were focused on economics" and that "OAN failed to agree to fair terms." Verizon was the largest pay-TV provider carrying OAN after DirecTV didn't renew its contract earlier this year. Some on the right accuse lawmakers of conspiring to silence OAN, citing a letter from several House Democrats to major TV providers expressing concerns over the role they play "in disseminating misinformation to millions."

OAN host Pearson Sharp said on July 6 that "not only are private companies now determining what information you are allowed to see, but there are members of our own government who are using their power to shut down anyone they disagree with." OAN posted a message to its website in mid-July asking Comcast and Charter Spectrum customers to tell the networks "that you want OAN added to your channel lineup." Former President Donald Trump praised OAN and accused Verizon of making the move "for purely political reasons."

Few right-rated sources covered Verizon dropping OAN. A Breitbart article framed the move as Democrats "blacklisting" pro-Trump perspectives, saying it represented "a rapidly escalating trend in the deplatforming of conservative media." Left- and center-rated sources covered the news more frequently. Many on the left framed it as a rebuke of Trump's false election claims and OAN's purportedly unsustainable business model, and painted lawsuits involving OAN as justification for Verizon's decision.