RT America Shuts Down After DirecTV, Roku Drop Channel

(Bloomberg) -- RT America, the U.S. arm of the Russian-government-controlled TV channel, will shut down and lay off most of its staff after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led distributors to drop the network.

Misha Solodovnikov, general manager of T&R Productions, the company that produces RT America, cited “unforeseen business interruption events” in a memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg News. CNN reported earlier on RT’s move.

The decision comes as two big distributors of RT’s programming in the U.S. -- DirecTV and Roku -- pulled the channel from their platforms this week, citing the invasion. 

RT faced criticism for its pro-Russia programming at a time when much of the world is pressuring Vladimir Putin to stop the war.

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