NEW YORK — The conservative news network Newsmax filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox News on Wednesday, saying Fox has sought to maintain its market dominance through intimidation and exclusionary business practices designed to stifle competition.
Fox has sought to block television distributors from carrying Newsmax or minimize its exposure, pressured guests not to appear on the rival network and hired private detectives to investigate Newsmax executives, said the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in south Florida. Newsmax seeks a jury trial.
Fox, in a statement, said “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, which has operated since 2014, is attacking Fox News at perhaps its most popular point: the cable network’s opinion programming has consistently beaten broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC in prime time over the summer months.
Its rivals pointed at a series of hardball business tactics in the complex world of television distribution. Fox’s success enables it to charge distributors “outsized” fees to carry the network, and it tries to force distributors either not to carry competitors who seek access to conservative viewers or make it hard to find them.
Fox has also tried to deliberately block Newsmax from growing platforms like Hulu, Sling and Fubo, the complaint alleged.
“Fox’s behavior represents a textbook abuse of monopoly power,” said Newsmax lawyer Michael J. Guzman. “The law is clear: competition, not coercion, should decide what news channels Americans can watch. By leveraging its must-have status, Fox has blocked new voices, suppressed consumer choice, and extracted excess profits.”
The lawsuit alleges Fox used an agency to set up social media accounts that attacked Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, and hired private detectives to investigate Newsmax executives. “Since the inception of Newsmax’s cable channel, Newsmax has faced threats and smear intimidation tactics to hurt or undermine the company and its executives,” the lawsuit said.
When Newsmax confronted Fox regarding anti-competitive conduct, Fox News responded, “welcome to the big leagues,” the lawsuit said.
Newsmax has never approached Fox News in ratings power, but court papers in lawsuits following the 2020 election revealed that Fox executives became greatly concerned that its rival would take advantage of viewer dissatisfaction following President Donald Trump’s election loss.
“Fox may have profited from exclusionary tactics and intimidation tactics for years, but those days are over,” Ruddy said in a statement.
