- Verizon announced it is dropping the pro-Trump channel One America News (OAN) from is services.
- OAN rose around the 2020 election spreading the false claim that Trump was cheated out of victory.
Verizon announced that it's dropping pro-Trump channel One America News (OAN) from its services at the end of this week. Following AT&T's DirecTV dropping OAN earlier this year, this removal could mean OAN's viewership dwindles dramatically without any other large provider.
OAN losing access to Verizon's Fios' television services could be a severe, even deadening knock to the far-right channel that was one of the largest and most influential promoters of the false claim that Trump was cheated out of victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Verizon announced OAN's termination in a content update on its website, saying it was "unable to reach an agreement to continue carrying One America News (OAN)" but did not provide other details. OAN, which is based in San Diego and owned by Herring Networks, will no longer be watchable on Verizon/Fios TV after July 30.
In reply to the news, OAN host Pearson Sharp lashed out at Verizon during a segment earlier this week, saying the provider was "like many radical, Marxist organizations" that's "more interested in discriminating against independent voices than being a diversity leader."
Verizon has over 3 million cable subscribers, and without access to its service the number of homes with OAN available on their television will likely drop to under a million, leaving niche cable providers one of the only remaining ways to watch the channel, according to The New York Times.
OAN, which began in 2013, rose to prominence around the 2020 election when it was one of a few outlets to aggressively support Trump and parrot baseless claims of election fraud. Trump championed the platform, and it continued to spread other right-wing conspiracy theories, including anti-vaccine rhetoric. OAN didn't broadcast President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021, and instead aired a pro-Trump segment called "Trump: Legacy of a Patriot."
OAN is currently being sued by the election machine technology companies Smartmatic and Dominion, which accuse the channel of defaming them in its coverage that suggested the companies helped facilitate election fraud. The lawsuits are part of a larger campaign of legal action against far-right media channels known for spreading baseless theories, including Trump-favorite Newsmax.