RT will probably never grace the streaming news choices of any provider again. Employees were informed Thursday that they were being laid off in a move that for some reason shocked some employees. For the uninitiated RT stood for Russia Today. The streaming channel is owned by the Russian government but wormed its way into the American mainstream with slick marketing and a strategy that involved opening offices in the US and the launch of RT America.
The organization employed a number of American personalities such as Dennis Miller who were glad to work for a Russian state-controlled media source with direct links to Vladimir Putin.
In the wake of the unprovoked attack on the Ukraine by Russia, various streaming and cable providers, who carried Russia today on their platforms dropped the channel. It was a precipitous drop for the brand which found itself on many prominent services over the years including a monetized YouTube channel and an app for Roku.
Going forward American audiences will have to rely on other sources for Russian propaganda.