Monica Crowley told Newsmax on Wednesday that President Joe Biden's candidate to sit on the Federal Communications Commission should put "her money where her mouth is."
Joining "Spicer & Co.," the former Trump administration official emphasized FCC nominee Gigi Sohn needs to demonstrate she will follow through in pushing for an investigation into the censorship of Newsmax by AT&T's DirecTV.
"I hope she doesn't get confirmed, but if she does, let's see if she puts her money where her mouth is when it comes to Newsmax and DirecTV," Crowley said of Sohn, who recently told a Senate panel the "deplatforming" was "something the FCC should investigate."
"You know, a lot of these left-wingers come before the Senate for their confirmation, and they tell the panel exactly what they want to hear," Crowley further noted. "The proof is in the pudding, of course."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
Amid Sohn's hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Tuesday, she stressed AT&T's move was "very troubling" and warrants a review of programmer's channel bundling practices.
The FCC nominee floated the possibility of looking into most-favored-nation clauses, which help cable operators keep networks from giving better deals to other operators.
Her concerns arrived several weeks after the satellite provider's shocking decision to stop broadcasting Newsmax, despite being the fourth highest-rated news channel, a top 20 channel overall, and watched by 25 million Americans on cable.
DirecTV has claimed both Newsmax and OAN were removed as "cost-cutting" measures at the same time the company reported profits last year of $2.7 billion. DirecTV claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would cost them in the "tens of millions" of dollars.
Newsmax has denied these claims, saying it was seeking a fee of about $1 per cable subscriber per year, among the lowest fees asked for in cable, and that total amount of the deal was a fraction of "tens of millions."
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Chris 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.
"This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax," Ruddy continued. "The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T's DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN [One America News Network] need to be deplatformed."
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.
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