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https://www.axios.com/2023/12/02/newsmax-rnc-feud-republican-debates
Newsmax is clashing with the Republican National Committee after the conservative, Trump-friendly channel wasn't able to co-sponsor one of the first four GOP presidential primary debates.
Why it matters: The dispute is a view into the delicate and at times fraught negotiations over the debates, which can propel or depress a candidacy — and add prestige and viewers to networks that sponsor them.
Driving the news: After Fox News and Fox Business hosted the first two debates, the RNC proposed that Newsmax co-sponsor the third debate as the junior partner to ABC News, four people familiar with the matter told Axios.
Newsmax executives were wary of being a junior partner with a mainstream media outlet, and thought the $2 million the RNC required Newsmax spend on the event was unnecessarily expensive.
The RNC also approached Newsmax about being the primary sponsor for the upcoming fourth GOP debate — which will be Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. — and would have required Newsmax to spend about $4 million producing the debate.
Newsmax execs felt that the RNC had moved the goalposts with the larger figure, but an email obtained by Axios shows that Newsmax was aware the costs would change based on the nature of the sponsors' partnership.
The Newsmax execs fumed when the RNC announced last month that NewsNation would sponsor the fourth debate; Newsmax was still looking for an additional sponsor to split the costs.
What they're saying: "Since the beginning of the process the RNC under [chair] Ronna McDaniel has consistently lied and obfuscated to Newsmax about us hosting a debate, so it's clear to us the RNC's goal has been to make sure anti-Trump media control the GOP debates."
The RNC and ABC News declined to comment.
Newsmax is clashing with the Republican National Committee after the conservative, Trump-friendly channel wasn't able to co-sponsor one of the first four GOP presidential primary debates.
Why it matters: The dispute is a view into the delicate and at times fraught negotiations over the debates, which can propel or depress a candidacy — and add prestige and viewers to networks that sponsor them.
Driving the news: After Fox News and Fox Business hosted the first two debates, the RNC proposed that Newsmax co-sponsor the third debate as the junior partner to ABC News, four people familiar with the matter told Axios.
Newsmax executives were wary of being a junior partner with a mainstream media outlet, and thought the $2 million the RNC required Newsmax spend on the event was unnecessarily expensive.
The RNC also approached Newsmax about being the primary sponsor for the upcoming fourth GOP debate — which will be Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. — and would have required Newsmax to spend about $4 million producing the debate.
Newsmax execs felt that the RNC had moved the goalposts with the larger figure, but an email obtained by Axios shows that Newsmax was aware the costs would change based on the nature of the sponsors' partnership.
The Newsmax execs fumed when the RNC announced last month that NewsNation would sponsor the fourth debate; Newsmax was still looking for an additional sponsor to split the costs.
What they're saying: "Since the beginning of the process the RNC under [chair] Ronna McDaniel has consistently lied and obfuscated to Newsmax about us hosting a debate, so it's clear to us the RNC's goal has been to make sure anti-Trump media control the GOP debates."
The RNC and ABC News declined to comment.
