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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Is an AT&T-affiliated satellite TV service an important source of revenue for One America News?

Saturday, October 30, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

One America News, a conservative news channel, receives 90% of its revenues from a distribution contract with AT&T's 70%-owned DIRECTV satellite television service, according to court documents and transcripts reviewed by Reuters. AT&T does not agree with characterizations that it therefore "funds" the channel, but the privately-owned service nonetheless relies on the agreement for most of its revenue, Reuters found.

Without the AT&T revenue, OAN "would go out of business tomorrow,” a lawyer stated in court, according to Reuters. The statement came during a trial of a lawsuit brought by a former OAN employee against the conservative news channel, Reuters said.

Reuters said documents indicated that the channel relies on the AT&T fees for $57 million a month. AT&T says the figure is "inaccurate," but declines to provide a specific one.

AT&T sold part of its interest in DIRECTV in August 2021.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Reuters How AT&T helped build far-right One America News

AT&T AT&T's Twitter statement on Reuters story on OAN

Hollywood Reporter AT&T completes spinoff of DirecTV in deal With TPG

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.