Newsmax sues Fox, alleges 'exclusionary scheme' to keep, grow dominance in right-leaning pay TV news

Newsmax filed a lawsuit against Fox News in Florida on Wednesday for allegedly illegally cornering the market on conservatives.

Attorneys for Newsmax argued that Fox has “long engaged in an exclusionary scheme to increase and maintain its dominance in the market for U.S. right-leaning pay TV news, resulting in suppression of competition in that market that harms consumers, competition, and Newsmax,” The Hill news outlet reported.

“Fox leverages this market power to coerce distributors into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax,” the lawsuit reads.

Newsmax also alleges that Fox, in the process, has “deliberately blocked Newsmax’s growth in critical distribution platforms such as Hulu, Sling, Fubo, and other major platforms.”

“Fox may have profited from exclusionary contracts and intimidation tactics for years, but those days are over,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said.

Fox News said in response tha Newsmax “cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”

Fox has long ranked as the top-watched cable news channel, and President Trump has tapped more than a dozen former hosts, commentators, and contributors from the network to serve in his administration during his second term.

Trump briefly touted Newsmax after the 2020 presidential election as he claimed there was widespread voter fraud.

Last week, Fox Corp. reached a long-term agreement with YouTubeTV to continue carrying the company’s various channels, including Fox News, Fox Sports, and The Big 10 network.

Fox also rolled out its own direct-to-consumer streaming service last month, “Fox One,” as more viewers cut cable each year.