Fox News dominates that market because it has “kept out, or restricted, competitors including but not limited to Newsmax and One America News Network,” according to a complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. “Meanwhile, the center-left TV news market has numerous, powerful competitors, including CNN, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS and others.” OANN isn’t a plaintiff.
Fox News allegedly coerces distributors into unfair terms that either prevent those distributors from carrying competitors of Fox News, including Newsmax, the complaint says.
It also imposes financial penalties on distributors if they carry Newsmax or others by requiring the distributors to carry and pay high fees for Fox channels such as Fox Business. Further, Fox inserts contractual barriers into its carriage agreements intended to prevent Newsmax and others from competing, the complaint states.
Antitrust lawsuits in the news industry are rare, said Andrew Gavil, antitrust law professor at Howard University. But the clash between the two conservative outlets may be a “sign of the times,” he added.
“Maybe because we are a very divided country, having access to those consumers is really important if you want to be in that same space and be an influencer of the right wing, which at least for the moment seems to be in a significantly powerful position in the country,” Gavil said.
A Fox News Media spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday that “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”
What’s the Market?
Newsmax was founded in 1998 as a digital media company by journalist Christopher Ruddy. Fox News dates to 1996 and has become a media conglomerate whose market capitalization is approximately $26 billion.
Using distribution agreements to exclude rivals is “bread and butter antitrust these days,” and it could be a better strategy for Newsmax to pursue, Gavil said.
This notion of tying up channels of distribution or making people pay more “can be a sign of market power,” he said.
But the monopolization claims could be tougher to overcome, he said. Newsmax defines the relevant product market as the market for the distribution of right-leaning pay TV news to consumers.
“Fox will certainly resist being characterized that way,” Gavil said. “Fox will try to exploit the defense-friendly doctrines of antitrust to say ‘not a relevant market, no market power.’”
Newsmax seeks relief under laws including Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act as well as the Florida Antitrust Act.
Newsmax is represented by Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC and Sperling Kenny Nachwalter PA.
The case is Newsmax Broadcasting LLC v. Fox Corp., S.D. Fla., No. 9:25-cv-81091, 9/3/25.
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