Self-described MAGA “firebrand” Matt Gaetz, who dropped out last month as Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general amid ongoing sexual misconduct allegations, has finally secured another full-time job now that he’s no longer in Congress.
After news leaked Monday night that he had agreed to host a primetime show for the little-watched right-wing conspiracy channel One America News, the network made it official on Tuesday with a press release and promotional video.
Gaetz taking the plunge and becoming a conservative television host is hardly a surprise. Besides appearing hundreds of times as a guest on Fox News and other right-wing outlets as a congressman, Gaetz also hosted his own podcast and was repeatedly allowed to sit in the anchor’s chair at OAN rival Newsmax.
In fact, his history of guest-hosting weeknight Newsmax programming prompted speculation that he would perhaps look to work for that pro-Trump channel after his bid for attorney general flamed out — especially since Newsmax was publicly courting him. Sources told The Independent last month that Newsmax executives were keen on the idea of making Gaetz a permanent fixture on the network.
Instead, Gaetz took his talents to San Diego, where One America News is headquartered. But the question remains — will anyone actually be watching his show when it debuts next month? Unlike Newsmax, which has experienced a post-election bump after Donald Trump’s victory and even beat CNN in the ratings numerous times, OAN has essentially fallen off the map in recent years and become nearly impossible to find on cable television.
After being propped up by AT&T for nearly a decade, the far-right channel was dropped by DirecTV in early 2022, not only severely limiting the network’s reach but depriving it of a significant revenue source. Months later, Verizon also removed the channel from its lineup — leaving OAN without any major pay-TV providers.
Since then, the network has tried to make a go of it on small cable carriers, streaming services, and its own subscriber app. With its broadcast coverage in the United States limited to roughly 10 million homes — a pittance compared to Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and even Newsmax — the network has looked to expand viewership by getting on local channels that can be watched via antenna. (Without the over-the-air local antenna service, OAN’s U.S. coverage would be limited to a few hundred thousand homes.)
It is hard to get an accurate gauge of OAN’s viewership as the network does not subscribe to Nielsen Media Research’s metrics, which tracks broadcast and cable television ratings. The one time the channel did a trial on Nielsen in 2019, it only averaged 14,000 viewers, despite OAN owner Robert Herring boasting that it was available in 35 million homes.
Still, with millions of Americans cutting the cord and turning to streaming while canceling their cable packages, is it possible that OAN is bringing in a huge audience through other means, such as their website or online video sites like YouTube and Rumble? Perhaps, but not likely.
According to SimilarWeb, One America News’ web traffic is ranked #4,526 in the United States and #267 among U.S. news and media publishers. Newsmax, which ranks #33 among U.S. news sites, averages 37.3 million visitors compared to OAN’s 3.7 million.
On YouTube, the network boasts 1.36 million followers but many of the videos OAN has posted to the channel have barely registered. Clips that were posted on Monday from primetime host Dan Ball’s show — which is touted as the network’s flagship program — had attracted less than 2,000 views a piece. Even Gaetz’s promotional video for his upcoming show, which was added to YouTube on Tuesday morning, has barely cracked a thousand views as of publication.
Over on Rumble, a conservative-friendly alternative to YouTube, the network has fared slightly better. Recent clips from Ball’s program have averaged upwards of 20,000 views, even though OAN has a following on its Rumble channel of nearly a million. Newsmax, on the other hand, enjoys more followers on both platforms, and its videos pull in thousands of more views than OAN’s.
So, with Newsmax attracting a much larger audience and seemingly on more secure footing than OAN, why would Gaetz choose the channel that’s been suffering an “existential” crisis for two-plus years now?
While Newsmax management may have hoped that Gaetz would consider jumping to the network, sources said, the decision could have just come down to which owner Gaetz trusted more. Back in 2021, Gaetz had told OAN that he was interested in exiting politics for a television hosting gig, eventually holding similar conversations with folks at Newsmax and Fox News.
Additionally, as OAN insiders noted, Robert Herring — who runs the network with his son Charles — is reportedly worth a few hundred million dollars through his tech businesses and has long hoped to attract a big “star” to revamp the struggling channel.
For instance, Herring supposedly offered Bill O’Reilly a substantial deal in June 2017 after Fox News fired the longtime host following sexual harassment settlements, only to later pull the offer after he said O’Reilly and his agent didn’t get back to him. After Fox News fired the primetime star last year, Herring did the same thing with Tucker Carlson.
Regardless of what caused Gaetz to ultimately decide on OAN, he appears excited to be anchoring the network’s evening lineup going forward.
“OAN is blazing a trail in media, embracing not just traditional news but the platforms where Americans are going—streaming, apps, podcasts, and social media,” he said in a press release announcing his show. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join OAN’s forward-thinking team and be part of this revolutionary expansion.”
Representatives for One America News did not respond to requests for comment.
