Newsmax Accuses Cable Operator of ‘Liberal Bias’ for Refusing to Carry It

Of the many media stories of 2020, NewsmaxTV's spark is among the fascinating. As I discuss in my monthly cable news column, Newsmax rose from the 78th rated cable channel in October to 29th in November. The network's rise was, in large part, due to post-election coverage of alleged voter fraud.

Newsmax founder Chris Ruddy says the channel reaches 70 million households, which far exceeds other outlets that also pivoted their topic-selection toward voter fraud, OANN most notably. DirecTV, Dish, Xfinity, Sling, and Fubo are among Newsmax's providers. However, the East-based RCN does not carry the network, and Newsmax has now accused RCN of refusing to carry it because of an alleged liberal bias.

“RCN is the only major cable company not taking Newsmax, and we’ve heard it has everything to do with its chairman, who is a strong Democrat who opposes Trump and backed financially Biden and [California Sen.] Adam Schiff,” Ruddy tells JNS.

The report adds that RCN's managing company, Patriot Media, is led by Steve Simmons, who donated to Joe Biden, Adam Schiff, and Seth Moulton during the 2019 presidential primaries.

Ahh, makes sense. They're Adam Schiff fans.

Greg Kelly, the on-air face of NewsmaxTV, is now encouraging New Yorkers to email RCN and request that the provider add the channel.

In addition to New York, RCN provides services in Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Newsmax's monetization strategy is not clear, but the network is not fully reliant on cable. Its live programming is offered for free on its website and YouTube, indicating that the network prioritizes reach over subscriber fees, at least for now. By contrast, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC all make significant revenue on sub fees. The Blaze, which has a reported 450,000 number of paid subscribers, is built on a direct-to-consumer model.

Perhaps moving forward, Newsmax's business model will change and distribution from RCN will become more critical.

Or the dynamics could swing the other way with RCN actively seeking to provide the network. Should Newsmax sustain its growth since November, the remaining providers would then likely add the network to avoid subscribers leaving for a competitor that offers it.

That said, many decision-makers are more partisan than smart. Not sure if that includes RCN...

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