What a difference a day makes. After blacking out Newsmax TV yesterday, DIRECTV has now picked up a different conservative-leaning network in its place. The First, previously only available online, is home to several broadcasters who have been displaced from other outlets. Their top draws seem to be former Fox headliner Bill O’Reilly and former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch.
Channel 349 on DIRECTV
The First (or, as they style it, THE F1RST), can be found in Newsmax’s old slot on Channel 349. This was obviously a very quick move by DIRECTV since the channel doesn’t even have guide data yet. Interestingly, though, DIRECTV has removed the term “Newsmax” from the search functionality on its boxes. I don’t know if this was intentional or simply a part of the transition. So, I don’t know if this means that Newsmax is gone forever.
According to several sources like The Daily Beast, The First is making programming available to DIRECTV with no fees attached, much as Newsmax did before their contract expired. DIRECTV claims that the reason they blacked out Newsmax is that the network demanded a retransmission fee. Retransmission fees are standard practice for many channels, but there are also many channels that don’t charge them.
The no-politics zone
This blog isn’t the place to talk about politics or sensitive subjects of any type. There are plenty of places to do that. Whether or not you think The First, or any of that type of programming, are right for you is your decision. Whether or not you think there’s a specific agenda to silence some voices and promote others, that’s up to you.
Personally what I’m seeing here is a good-faith attempt from DIRECTV to provide an alternative for a station that they blacked out. They did the same thing when there was a contract issue with The Weather Channel. They brought on WeatherNation as a channel, and eventually the dispute was settled. Now, both The Weather Channel and WeatherNation are on DIRECTV and everyone wins.
I’ll say that if it makes financial sense for everyone for Newsmax to return, whether or not The First stays as well, then it’s probably going to happen. It’s all about the dollars and cents, folks. DIRECTV can’t charge $200 a month for basic service, no one would buy it. So they have to make smart decisions that will keep them in business. You may not agree with those decisions, but they’re probably the best financial choices.
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