Newsmax Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Fox News
Miami, FL – Newsmax filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in southern Florida accusing Fox News of monopolistic practices designed to suppress competition from right-leaning media outlets.The suit alleges Fox News has leveraged its dominant position in the cable news market to hinder Newsmax’s growth and market access.
According to the complaint, Fox News has engaged in “anticompetitive behaviors” to “protect and expand its monopoly power in the Right-leaning Pay TV News Market.” Newsmax attorneys claim that without these actions, the outlet would have achieved greater distribution, faster audience growth, and earlier advertiser interest, ultimately becoming a more valuable media property.
The lawsuit details several alleged tactics employed by Fox News, including making carriage of its content conditional on distributors not carrying competing right-leaning channels. Newsmax further alleges that Fox imposes financial penalties on distributors who do carry competitors, requiring them to carry and pay fees for less popular channels like Fox Business. The suit also claims Fox inserts contractual barriers into carriage agreements to prevent competition.”These tactics constitute unlawful restraints of trade and flow directly from Fox’s unlawful monopolization of the Right-leaning Pay TV News Market,” the complaint states. ”Fox’s longstanding and ongoing practices have harmed and will further harm, competition and consumers in the United States.”
A Fox News spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit, stating, “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”
newsmax is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent Fox News from continuing these alleged exclusionary practices. Additionally, the outlet requests a judgment for three times the amount of damages sustained due to Fox’s alleged actions, along wiht pre- and post-judgment interest at the highest legal rate.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more facts becomes available.- CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
