OAN loses final major carrier after it fails to reach agreement with Verizon Fios

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One America’s ultra-right wing commentary channel could be in danger of shutting down after it will be yanked off the final national carrier to still carry the controversial network.

OAN’s deal with DirecTV expired in January 2022 and the channel was removed from its lineup shortly after, cutting it off from about 50% of the 35 million homes that receive the network.

Now, Verizon’s Fios TV service will drop the network as well after failing to come to terms with OAN management over financial arrangements.

Details about what the sticking points were not released, but often TV providers and networks are at odds over how much the provider pays to carry the network on a per-subscriber basis.

Verizon says the decision was made based on numbers and not politics — saying it could not reach an agreement with OAN. OAN did not respond, though often networks will defend their decision to hold out for better terms.

Most pay TV providers try to get that cost as low as possible since it increases its ability to offer competitive pricing while still making a profit. Networks, meanwhile, can rely heavily on the income from these fees to fund operations and turn a profit.

While many TV networks also air commercials as a revenue stream, in some situations this revenue is smaller than the carriage fees, though it’s not clear how the revenue for OAN breaks down.

Although few details are public about OAN’s financials, losing Verizon could signal the need to either seek beefed up direct to consumer offerings such as streaming.

OAN is also facing a massive lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, along with several other parties including Fox’s right-wing commentary channel, over claims that it broadcast content that damaged the voting machine company’s reputation after making unsubstantiated claims that Dominion machines were somehow rigged to throw the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

These claims, part of the so-called “big lie” are believed to have played a significant role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.