DirecTV announced that it will no longer carry RT America, a channel backed by the Russian government, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"In line with our previous agreement with RT America, we are accelerating this year's contract expiration timeline and will no longer offer their programming effective immediately," DirecTV said in a statement.
The pay TV company's decision follows an earlier announcement from Roku that RT's app would be removed from its channel store in Europe. Also, Facebook owner Meta Platforms, along with another social media giant, TikTok, said they would block user access to RT and to Russian news agency Sputnik in the European Union.
"When it comes to the Russian voice, or just a different perspective, it is not allowed to exist in the free media space, said Anna Belkina, RT's deputy editor-in-chief, responding to Reuters.
DirecTV was spun off from AT&T last year and is now independently managed under a joint-venture arrangement 30% owned by private equity firm TPG.
RT America remains available on Dish Network, as well as a few smaller cable systems, including Buckeye Cable.
