Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Newsmax Friday that DirecTV's response to his letter about the company's refusal to carry Newsmax "failed to answer the questions that we asked."
"I'm going to keep pressing them and pressing them hard," Cruz said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show." "My objective is for Newsmax to be back on DirecTV. Millions of Texans enjoy watching Newsmax and I think viewers ought to have a choice.
"We've seen too many players in corporate America give in to censorship, give in to the left saying, 'Silence voices we don't like,'" he continued. "If Big Business doesn't agree with Newsmax, fine. Argue that you guys are wrong. But don't try to deprive viewers of the right to be able to see intelligent commentary and news coverage."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship!
AT&T's DirecTV cut Newsmax's signal Jan. 24, blocking the network from more than 13 million subscribers of the satellite service, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse.
Newsmax is America's fourth highest-rated news network in the cable landscape and a top-20 overall channel that reaches 25 million Americans weekly, according to the Nielsen ratings.
While DirecTV said it dropped the popular network due to "cost-cutting" measures, it also carries 22 left-leaning news channels, many of which draw considerably lower ratings than Newsmax, and all of which get paid license fees.
DirecTV has claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would amount to "tens of millions" of dollars. Newsmax has denied that, saying it is seeking an approximate fee of $1 per cable subscriber per year, which is among the lowest requested fees in cable.
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, said. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax — of all cable news channels — should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny."
Cruz said that he would continue to work in the Senate to restore Newsmax to the satellite service.
"From my position as ranking member of the Commerce Committee, I'm going to continue to press DirecTV and press AT&T until, hopefully, they reverse this decision," he said.
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.