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Landmark Federal Antitrust Case Seeks Significant Damages
BOCA RATON, FL / ACCESS Newswire / September 3, 2025 / Newsmax Inc. (NYSE:NMAX) ("Newsmax" or the "Company") announced today that the Company's subsidiary, Newsmax Broadcasting, LLC, has filed a major federal antitrust lawsuit against Fox Corporation and Fox News Network, LLC (collectively, "Fox") in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The suit, led by prominent antitrust litigators at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C., accuses Fox of engaging in an extensive and unlawful campaign to block competition in the market for right-leaning pay television news, including Newsmax.
Newsmax's action seeks damages under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, the Florida Antitrust Act, and the Florida Deceptive & Unfair Trade Practices Act. Under federal law, any damages awarded in this case will be trebled - meaning Fox faces significant financial liability if Newsmax prevails.
The complaint alleges that Fox has 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.
Fox News, described in the complaint as a "must-have" channel for distributors, leverages its market power to impose restrictions that harm consumers, stifle competition, and drive up costs across the pay TV ecosystem.
Among the exclusionary tactics detailed in the complaint:
No-Carry Provisions: Fox conditions access to Fox News on agreements by distributors not to carry or to restrict competing right-leaning news channels.
Financial Penalties: If distributors carry Newsmax, Fox forces them to also carry low-demand channels like Fox Business or Fox Sports 2 in their most widely viewed tiers - triggering potentially tens of millions in extra fees.
Confidential Drag-Down Provisions: These clauses penalize distributors for placing Newsmax in basic packages by requiring simultaneous promotion of Fox's less popular channels.
Intimidation Campaigns: Fox has allegedly pressured its guests to not appear on Newsmax, as well as has run online smear campaigns and hired private investigators targeting Newsmax executives to damage the Company's credibility.
The result, the complaint asserts, is that Fox has deliberately blocked Newsmax's growth in critical distribution platforms such as Hulu, Sling, Fubo, and other major platforms.
Internal Fox communications cited in the complaint reveal that senior executives and talent saw Newsmax as a competitive threat following the 2020 election. Texts, emails, and memoranda show Fox leaders acknowledging that Newsmax's growing audience could "drastically change the landscape" of cable news, including:
Then-Fox host Tucker Carlson warned that "an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us."
Fox News President Jay Wallace told CEO Suzanne Scott that Fox was on "war footing" over Newsmax's rise.
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch instructed Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott that Newsmax "should be watched" as a result of press stories about the network.
Other executives tracked Newsmax's bookings and content, openly strategizing about ways to contain the new competitor.
Harm to Competition and Consumers
The lawsuit alleges that Fox's exclusionary conduct has had far-reaching consequences:
Higher Prices: By blocking competition, Fox has extracted supracompetitive carriage fees - charging distributors nearly $2.20 per subscriber per month, double CNN's fees and six times MSNBC's. These inflated costs have been or likely will be passed on to consumers.
Reduced Consumer Choice: Millions of right-leaning viewers who want an alternative have been denied access to Newsmax on affordable basic packages, leaving Fox as the only viable option.
Delayed Growth of Newsmax: Fox's practices have prevented Newsmax from reaching critical mass with distributors, advertisers, and audiences, costing the Company hundreds of millions in lost carriage fees and advertising revenue.
