Russia's RT America To Shut Down After Being Dropped By DirecTV And Roku

RT America, the U.S.-based unit of Russia’s state-sponsored RT television network, announced that it is ending operations after being dropped from the channel line-ups on Roku ROKU and DirecTV, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. T.

What Happened: Deadline reported that T&R Productions, the Russian-owned company responsible for RT America’s programming, informed its workforce that their employment will be over around May 3. RT America runs bureaus out of New York, Washington, D.C., Miami and Los Angeles.

“Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent separation from employment of most T&R employees at all locations,” said General Manager Misha Solodovnikov in a memo to his employees, adding the termination of operations was due to “unforeseen business interruption events.”

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Why It Happened: RT America launched in 2010, five years after its parent network went live from Moscow. Although RT America featured third-party-produced shows starring Dennis Miller, William Shatner and the late Larry King, the channel has been widely regarded in the media industry as a Russian propaganda tool.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, efforts have been made across broadcast and online media to restrict the access by Russia’s state-owned media to wider audiences. The European Union announced it was banning distribution among its member nations of RT and Sputnik, another state-owned Russian media outlet.

Even the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has become involved by ejecting Solodovnikov from its board of directors.

RT is still available in the U.S. on Dish Network Corp DISH, although a spokesperson for the company said it was “closely monitoring the situation” in Ukraine.

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting an RT studio in Moscow in 2013. Photo courtesy Kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons