Newsmax filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Wednesday accusing Fox News of using its dominance in the conservative cable news market to suppress competition and block distribution deals for rivals.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, claims Fox coerced pay-TV providers into signing exclusionary contracts that prevented Newsmax and other right-leaning networks from gaining adequate carriage on platforms such as Hulu, Sling, and Fubo. Newsmax argued the tactics harmed not only its growth but also consumer choice.
In its statement, Newsmax said Fox “abused its dominance in the right-leaning pay TV news market for years by coercing distributors into unfair carriage agreements designed to exclude or marginalize competitors like Newsmax.” The complaint also alleges Fox pressured guests not to appear on Newsmax, ran online smear campaigns, and even hired private investigators to target its executives.
Newsmax pointed to evidence that Fox became increasingly threatened by its ratings gains after the 2020 election. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and court orders to end Fox’s alleged exclusionary practices and restore competition in conservative media.
