The pact to sell commercials is separate from the deal to air OAN on DirecTV, and does not expire until 2024. A pending sale of Xandr to Microsoft will not include the portion of the company that sells commercials for DirecTV or OAN.Īfter DirecTV drops OAN, said a person familiar with the contract, the AT&T subsidiary will continue to serve as the advertising representative for OAN on other platforms, such as regional cable companies and cable and internet provider Verizon FIOS. Under that deal, an AT&T subsidiary called Xandr is OAN’s sole advertising vendor and earns a commission on commercials aired by the network, the lawsuit alleges. DirecTV called the lawsuit “baseless” and said it was “confident that we have fully complied both with the law and our agreement.”Īfter the Reuters report ran last year, AT&T issued a statement that said it “has never had a financial interest in OAN’s success.”īut the new lawsuit alleges that in addition to helping to create and distribute OAN, AT&T entered into the advertising deal with the network in 2019. The telecommunications giant denied OAN’s claim that the political beliefs of executives influenced the decision to drop the network. “These allegations are completely without merit,” AT&T said. The lawsuit was filed March 7 by Herring Networks on behalf of OAN in state court in San Diego.ĭirecTV and AT&T did not respond to specific queries from Reuters about the advertising pact, but issued statements about OAN’s lawsuit. Robert Herring Sr, founder and CEO of San Diego-based Herring Networks, which owns OAN, did not respond to requests for comment. Court records show that about 90% of OAN’s revenue is generated from its AT&T/DirecTV deals. OAN’s lawsuit, which seeks $1 billion in damages, alleges that the removal of the network from the satellite service was politically inspired and “could be devastating” financially. To read the Reuters Special Report, click The move came three months after Reuters revealed that AT&T played a pivotal role in creating OAN and has paid tens of millions of dollars to carry the network on DirecTV.
The court filing, made as part of a lawsuit OAN filed against AT&T and DirecTV last week, reveals an exclusive contract for an AT&T subsidiary to sell commercials for OAN.ĪT&T owns 70% of DirecTV, which announced in January it would drop OAN, a network known for promoting false 2020 election reports. WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - AT&T’s financial relationship with One America News is deeper than previously known and will continue even after DirecTV drops the far-right network from its satellite service next month, a new court filing shows.
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