Newsmax TV is a cable news channel owned by Newsmax Media. The channel primarily broadcasts from Newsmax's New York studio on Manhattan's East Side, carrying a news/talk format throughout the day and night, with documentaries and films on weekends. The channel was created by American journalist and Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy. It launched on June 16, 2014 to 35 million satellite subscribers through DirecTV and Dish Network. As of May 2019, the network reaches about 75 million cable homes and has wide digital media player/mobile device availability. Newsmax TV is generally thought of as holding a conservativepoint of view, broadcasting many programs hosted by conservative media personalities. Its conservative-leaning competitors include Fox News Channel, One America News Network, and TheBlaze. In an interview with FrontPage Magazine, Ruddy said his network was specifically designed to appeal to viewers in the American heartland, and that the network was meant as a complement for viewpoints not usually seen on Fox News Channel due to their appeal to a wider base of viewers.
History
Network launch
In May 2014, U.S. news organization Newsmax Media announced that it had signed a distribution deal with DirecTV and would launch a national television news channel to compete directly with CNN, Fox News, and other American news networks. It was launched to provide independent news and was described as a “kinder, gentler Fox News,” offering a balanced perspective and being open to all points of view. In addition to politics, Newsmax TV would also provide a full range of informational programming and lifestyle content in the areas of health, finance, and personal well-being. The channel was launched on June 16, 2014. It initially carried live programming from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, and it currently airs original news programs 20 hours each weekday. On January 16, 2016, Dennis Michael Lynch: Unfiltered debuted on the channel. The program ended after the first segment of the August 10 episode after Lynch announced that he would resign from the network and made comments defending Fox News Channel and criticizing his network for its reporting of the Trump campaign and suggesting they were restricting his editorial control; he was escorted out from the network's New York studio during what would have been the first commercial break. It was replaced the next Monday with an hour-long video simulcast of radio's The Howie Carr Show from WRKO in Boston. The network launched Spicer & Co. on March 3, 2020, featuring former Trump White House Press SecretarySean Spicer and co-host Lyndsay Keith, followed by Greg Kelly Reports with former FNC White House correspondent and host of WNYW's Good Day New York, Greg Kelly. The network's overnight programming is mainly made up of conservative documentaries.
Notable personalities
Program hosts
Steve Bannon: Host of War Room
Nancy Brinker: Host of Conversations with Nancy Brinker
Newsmax TV mainly depends on its carriage on cable services for viewership, along with streaming on their website and open digital media player platforms such as Roku. However, the network carries a small base of free-to-air terrestrial television affiliates.
