TV Answer Man, will DIRECTV ever bring back the OAN news channel that we love so much? It seems like they were pressured to get rid of it because of politics. Do you think they will bring it back if the Republicans win in November? I hope so. We miss it!! — Verna, Boulder, Colorado.

Verna, DIRECTV last April dropped the conservative One America News (OAN) when its carriage agreement with the news channel expired.

OAN, which has been a favorite channel of former President Trump, was a political thorn in DIRECTV’s side after Reuters reported in October 2021 that AT&T encouraged Robert Herring, the owner of Herring Networks, to start the news channel several years ago. (AT&T was then the sole owner of DIRECTV. The communications giant has since sold a 30 percent minority stake to private equity firm, TPG.)

Click Amazon: See Today’s 1-Day-Only Deals!

The Reuters story triggered a wave of criticism towards AT&T from liberals who say the communications giant was responsible for creating a news channel that Democrats (and even some Republicans) allege engages in purposeful disinformation on topics such as vaccine effectiveness, the 2020 presidential election and the Covid-19 pandemic. OAN denies the charge, saying that it’s simply offering viewpoints that differ from those held by their opponents.

DIRECTV did not offer an explanation for why it removed OAN in April, but it’s highly, highly unlikely it will bring the channel back regardless of what happens in November. The company has determined the channel is more trouble than it’s worth and that won’t change no matter who’s running the Congress or even the White House after the 2024 election.

While OAN filed a lawsuit over its removal, unless the channel can determine that DIRECTV violated their agreement (not likely), it has little hope here.

Now that OAN is no longer available on DIRECTV, there are still ways to watch the news channel without having to subscribe to any pay TV service.

Several free streaming services carry OAN Plus, which offers a mix of shows and documentaries pulled from the 24/7 edition of OAN. The list of free services that carry OAN Plus include Pluto, Local Now, The Roku Channel, Distro TV, Klowd TV, Vizio TV and MyTVtoGo.

You can also still watch the main OAN channel by subscribing via Roku’s Channel Store, KlowdTV, CenturyLink PRISM, GCI, Verizon, or Vidgo.

Need to buy something today? Please buy it using this Amazon.com link. This site receives a small portion of each purchase, which helps us continue to provide these articles.

Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman