Newsmax inks multiyear deal with Verizon

Conservative cable channel Newsmax has signed a new multiyear agreement with distributor Verizon, the two parties announced on Wednesday.

The new agreement will retain Newsmax’s broad distribution on the Verizon platform, which the company claimed reaches 3.5 million subscribers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

“Verizon has carried Newsmax for many years, and we are delighted to be extending our distribution through the Fios platform,” said Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media. “We have found them to be outstanding partners who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the presentation of diverse, independent voices through their programming. We’re glad that we are continuing with this new agreement.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but news of Wednesday’s agreement comes just days after Verizon confirmed it would not renew its contract with One America News Network, another conservative cable channel, after July 31, saying OAN would be removed from its television lineup. 

“Our company has long advocated for providing customers with the ability to choose what content they want to watch, and our Fios TV platform offers a wide and diverse choice of programming options, including a la carte options, that strive to meet our millions of customers’ various content needs and preferences,” Verizon said in a statement to The Hill last week.

Newsmax and OAN, both with audiences a fraction of that of the three main cable news channels, emerged following the 2020 presidential election as the networks of choice for former President Trump’s staunchest supporters based largely on their segments about Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud and other culture war issues.