Newsmax Inc. (NYSE:NMAX) 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.
