Earlier this week, Newsmax announced it had filed a lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that the network colluded with television operators to keep it off of cable systems.
Newsmax’s complaint alleges that Fox has leveraged its dominance to coerce distributors into restrictive agreements that exclude or marginalize rival channels. The lawsuit details a range of what it labels as exclusionary tactics. These include “no-carry” provisions that tie access to Fox News with restrictions on carrying competing news networks, financial penalties that require distributors to carry Fox channels like FS1 and Fox Business Network if they also carry Newsmax, and confidential drag-down clauses that penalize the promotion of Newsmax in basic packages.
“Fox’s behavior represents a textbook abuse of monopoly power,” said Michael J. Guzman, an attorney for Newsmax. “Competition, not coercion, should determine what news channels Americans can watch. Fox has blocked new voices, suppressed consumer choice, and extracted excess profits.”
Internal Fox communications, cited in the lawsuit, show senior executives viewed Newsmax as a competitive threat following the 2020 election. The documents reportedly include a warning from then-host Tucker Carlson that “an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating,” statements from Fox News President Jay Wallace indicating the network was on “war footing,” and directives from Chairman Rupert Murdoch to monitor Newsmax closely. Executives allegedly tracked Newsmax’s bookings and content while strategizing to contain its growth.
In response to the lawsuit, a Fox News spokesperson told Barrett Media, “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 has fired back with a statement of its own. In a statement provided to Barrett Media, a network spokesperson shot back at Fox News.
“If Newsmax was such a ratings failure, why has FOX spent so much time, energy, and resources to suppress us, block us, and denigrate us?” a network spokesperson shared. “The answer is obvious. Also please note that FOX in its statement does not deny any of our serious allegations.”
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