(FreedomBeacon.com)- One America News Network has sued DirecTV and its parent company AT&T for breach of contract.
In January, DirecTV announced that it would not renew its contract with OAN when it expires in April.
DirecTV is OAN’s largest distributor. With its loss, the pro-Trump network would only be available on Verizon FiOS, some smaller TV providers, and online streaming. Comcast and Charter, the two major cable companies do not carry One America News.
AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015 and holds a 70 percent stake in the provider. It has carried OAN since April 2017 when AT&T settled a lawsuit with parent company Herring Networks which claimed AT&T reneged on an agreement to carry OAN on DirecTV.
But last year, AT&T and DirecTV came under an intense pressure campaign from Left-wing groups angry that DirecTV was continuing to carry OAN, despite the network promoting the so-called “Big Lie” about the 2020 election.
OAN’s lawsuit, which was filed on March 7 in California superior court, came just days before Republican attorneys general in six states, including Texas, called on DirecTV to reverse its decision not to renew OAN’s contract.
The suit, filed by One America News owner Herring Networks, also alleges AT&T executive board chairman William Kennard was part of a conspiracy to silence the outlet and remove it from DirecTV.
Herring Networks points to Kennard’s involvement as a board member with the private equity group Staple Street Capital, which owns a majority stake in Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion has filed billion-dollar defamation lawsuits against both OAN and Newsmax over their coverage of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
In the complaint, Herring Networks accuses AT&T of being part of a “coordinated, extremely well-financed political scheme to take down Herring” and prevent it from operating.
According to the lawsuit, the financial damage to OAN by DirecTV’s non-renewal could exceed $1 billion.
AT&T spokesman Jim Kimberly said in a statement that the allegations made in Herring Networks’ lawsuit are “completely without merit, particularly as they relate to AT&T and our independent chairman.”
