Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, is not happy that Cincinnati Bell, now using the name Altafiber, canceled Newsmax from its cable lineup — and says the move hurts its own customers.
Vance told Newsmax Wednesday night that Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell's customers, not the company, should determine if they get to watch Newsmax. Vance called Newsmax a "really important source of free speech."
Last year Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell canceled Newsmax from its cable channel lineup — while keeping more than a dozen liberal news and information channels — almost all with lower ratings than Newsmax and more costly for their customers.
Urgent: You can cancel AltaFiber/Cincinnati Bell and get Newsmax on another service! To cancel call 1-888-246-2355 or go to DropCincinnatiBell.com now!
At the time, Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell dropped Newsmax, the fourth highest-rated cable news channel, from 50,000 of its customer homes across Ohio and northern Kentucky.
Previous to Vance's comments, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul decried Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell's move as a blatant act of censorship of an important conservative outlet.
Sen. Paul has urged Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell customers to cancel their service with the company and sign up for a competitor that carries Newsmax.
"We can't have these corporations controlling free speech in our country," Vance told Newsmax's "Greg Kelly Reports." "Cincinnati Bell, their customers should decide whether they get to see Newsmax. This is not something that Cincinnati Bell should foist on their customers."
Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell has claimed Newsmax was demanding too high of a license fee. But Altafiber dropped Newsmax in the middle of its negotiations with its representative, who later agreed on a price with the network that almost all other cable companies agreed to accept.
"It's disappointing that Altafiber/Cincinnati Bell has been less-than honest with its customers as it dropped Newsmax in the middle of negotiations to keep many costly liberal channels on its systems," a Newsmax spokesperson said.
Vance repeated his claim that Newsmax is an important source of free speech and reports "stories that the corporate media isn't willing to tell.
"You allow debates that the corporate media isn't willing to host," he added. "That's why we need to have Newsmax available to everybody who wants it. That's what should drive this conversation."
Urgent: You can cancel AltaFiber/Cincinnati Bell and get Newsmax on another service! To cancel call 1-888-246-2355 or go to DropCincinnatiBell.com now!
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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