NewsmaxTV Signs With DirecTV

• Launch Set for June

Focused on serving an audience of more than 80 million disenfranchised baby boomers, Newsmax Media Inc.'s Newsmax TV has signed a distribution deal with DirecTV and is accelerating toward a national launch that expects to reach 40 percent of U.S. cable and satellite homes by the end of this year.

Newsmax TV also plans a major OTT platform rollout with penetration estimated in excess of 100 million iOS and Android smart devices.

Christopher Ruddy

Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy said the company will begin its soft launch in mid-June through DirecTV on its most penetrated residential and commercial packages, reaching more than 20 million subscribers. Newsmax expects to announce additional distribution deals in the near future.

Newsmax TV will provide independent news with a mainstream conservative tilt, while offering a balanced perspective and open to all points of view. More than just a politically focused channel, Newsmax TV will provide a full range of informational programming and lifestyle content for boomers in the areas of health, finance, and personal well-being.

"The agreement we have signed with DirecTV marks a significant milestone for Newsmax TV as we prepare for a national launch this summer. Our launch will benefit from the existing Newsmax.com audience that is already in place, will naturally be drawn to our brand of news, features, and useful information and consists of one of the highest concentrations of baby boomers on the web," Ruddy said. "We will immediately plug into that audience to participate in the development and the evolution of the channel prior to a national launch."

The Newsmax TV channel will build on and benefit from an array of Newsmax Media multimedia assets, which include:

• The Newsmax Feed Network, now carried on approximately 2,000 websites with 1 billion page views monthly;
• Top ranked websites like Newsmax.com, Newsmaxhealth.com, and Moneynews.com, which draw close to 14 million unique monthly visitors, including more than 4 million opt-in email news alert subscribers.
• With headquarters in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Fla., and additional studios in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, Newsmax TV will initially launch with nine hours of original programming. The schedule will expand to 18 hours by year's end with an emphasis on practical, useful information that is relevant to the lives of a large, under-served adult audience. 

Founded in 1998, Newsmax Media is a privately held news-focused media organization. In addition to being the parent company that is launching Newsmax TV nationally, its media holdings and products include The Newsmax Feed Network, Newsmax.com, Moneynews.com, Newsmaxhealth.com, Newsmax Magazine and more than a dozen health and financial online and print newsletters.