ATT/DirectTV cancelling Newsmax

@Debcyto  Newsmax was being carried for free by DirecTV. Newsmax decided they wanted to start charging DirecTV  for the privilege of carrying their channel. Negotiations were started but both parties couldn't come to an agreement so the contract was not renewed and Newsmax pulled their feed. Newsmax had nothing else to offer DirecTV in the way of bundled channels so the cost was not justifiable. Business, plain and simple. All providers enter into carriage agreements with the affiliate owners or station owners and sometimes they just don't agree so the channels are dropped. Provider guarantee a service (tv) but they don't guarantee specific channels. It's in the TOS.

DirecTV has replaced Newsmax with The F1rst, which features Bill O'Reilly so you'll still get your entertainment. 

You can watch Newsmax for free on their website or switch to another provider, like Comcast, who still carries Newsmax, for now.

Are they asking something of Newsmax that they are asking of other networks?

DirecTV continues to carry 22 (Edited per community guidelines) news channels, many with much lower ratings than Newsmax and all get paid hefty license fees. DirecTV has insisted Newsmax is not eligible for any cable license fee.

Newsmax is the fourth highest rated "news" program but they are way behind the third rated news program, and they have nothing else to offer in the way of programming to be bundled with. DirecTV just does not want to pay what Newsmax is demanding in the way of carriage fees so the ROI is just not reasonable for the cost of carrying it. Complain all you want but it's a done deal. Switch to Comcast, they carry it.

Newsmax is the one who is demanding the high payment fee, not DirecTV. Why should DirecTV pay a lot of money for something that they were getting for free?