Earlier this week, conservative cable news channel Newsmax struck a deal with DirecTV to return the network to the satellite provider after a monthslong back and forth that see each company take shots at the other. Keith Olbermann couldn’t help but notice those shots have ceased.
“Greta Van Susteren called for a Congressional investigation. Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote a letter threatening dire consequences and insisted this was liberal censorship,” The Countdown with Keith Olbermann host said. “DirecTV dropped Newsmax and the whiny butthurt snowflake fascists like Cruz demanded, I don’t know? Firing squads?”
The former cable news host then said it was clear during the dispute that the problem was about business, not politics.
“We all told them no, it’s not censorship, Newsmax gave its channel for free to DirecTV and then one day Newsmax said to DirecTV ‘Look, instead of free, we’d like you to give us $13 million a year’. DirecTV said ‘Are you kidding? For that crap?’ Direct TV and Newsmax have now made a deal. Terms were not disclosed, but Newsmax will be back on the satellite provider.”
Olbermann then turned his attention to Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy’s change in messaging. Previously, Ruddy — like others Olbermann had mentioned — was adamant that the network was removed due to conservative censorship.
However, now that a deal between the two parties has been struck, he believes that DirecTV “clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones”.
