On September 3, 2025, the long-simmering rivalry between two of America’s most prominent conservative news networks erupted into a full-blown legal battle. Newsmax, an upstart right-leaning broadcaster, filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Fox News and its parent Fox Corporation in federal court in Florida. The suit, which Newsmax wants tried before a jury, alleges that Fox News has systematically abused its market dominance to stifle competition and maintain its position as the leading voice in conservative media.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses Fox News of orchestrating what Newsmax calls an “extensive and unlawful campaign” to block competition in the market for right-leaning pay-TV news. According to AP, Newsmax contends that Fox has not only leveraged its popularity and must-have status among distributors, but also resorted to intimidation, exclusionary business practices, and even personal attacks on Newsmax executives to suppress rivals.
Newsmax, which launched its cable channel in 2014, has steadily built a following, buoyed in part by support from former President Donald Trump and a loyal conservative audience. Yet, as BBC reports, Fox News remains the undisputed heavyweight in the space, consistently outpacing not only Newsmax but also major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC in prime-time ratings over the summer months. With a market value near $26 billion, Fox News has long been the most popular conservative news outlet in the U.S.
According to the lawsuit, Fox News employs at least three major anticompetitive tactics to maintain its dominance. First, Newsmax alleges that Fox imposes “explicit or tacit” no-carry provisions on distributors, conditioning access to its “commercially critical content” on the concession that those distributors will not carry other right-leaning news channels like Newsmax. Second, Fox is accused of penalizing distributors who do carry Newsmax by forcing them to pay high fees for lesser-watched channels such as Fox Business and Fox Sports 2. These so-called “drag-down” provisions, the lawsuit claims, can amount to tens of millions in additional license fees, making it financially burdensome for distributors to offer Newsmax to their subscribers.
Third, Newsmax says Fox inserts a suite of other contractual barriers into its carriage agreements, all designed to make it hard for competitors to gain a foothold. As Deadline details, Newsmax claims these restrictions have prevented it from being carried on Fubo’s sports and entertainment package and Sling TV’s two base plans, while delaying its entry onto other platforms like Hulu. The end result, Newsmax argues, is that Fox’s tactics have delayed its growth in pay-TV distribution for nearly a decade, causing lost business, missed advertising and marketing revenues, and lower cable license fees—all while driving up company costs.
But the allegations go beyond business contracts. The lawsuit asserts that Fox News has pressured guests not to appear on Newsmax, hired private detectives to investigate Newsmax executives, and even used a social media firm to orchestrate smear campaigns targeting Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy. “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 states. Newsmax claims that Fox, either by itself or through intermediaries, has hired private detective firms to investigate its leadership and engaged in online campaigns to discredit them.
Fox News, for its part, has responded with characteristic bluntness. In a statement provided to multiple outlets, a Fox News spokesperson 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.” The network’s response underscores its view that Newsmax’s struggles are of its own making, not the result of any anticompetitive conduct by Fox.
Newsmax, however, quickly fired back. “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? The answer is obvious. Also please note that Fox in its statement does not deny any of our serious allegations,” a Newsmax spokesperson told Deadline.
Central to the legal fight is the question of what constitutes the relevant market. Fox News has traditionally promoted its dominance across all news channels and the broader cable TV landscape, while Newsmax argues that the market for right-leaning pay-TV news channels is distinct from general news. The lawsuit asserts, “Consumers who desire right-leaning commentary are much more likely to switch to a channel that shares their ideological perspective than one with a different viewpoint. Right-leaning viewers demonstrate minimal switching to non-right-leaning news outlets like CNN or MSNBC.”
Newsmax’s legal team, led by Michael J. Guzman, describes Fox’s behavior as a “textbook abuse of monopoly power.” Guzman told AP, “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 is not the first time either network has found itself in legal hot water. Both Fox News and Newsmax previously settled high-profile defamation suits with Dominion Voting Systems over false claims about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million in April 2023, while Newsmax settled for $67 million last month. Internal Fox News communications made public during the Dominion litigation have now found their way into Newsmax’s complaint. The suit cites texts and emails from Fox News personalities and executives expressing concern about Newsmax’s potential to capitalize on viewer dissatisfaction after President Donald Trump’s election loss. Tucker Carlson, for example, warned a producer that “an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us,” while Fox News president Jay Wallace described Fox as being on “war footing” with Newsmax. Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corp. chairman, reportedly told CEO Suzanne Scott that Newsmax “should be watched.”
Newsmax is seeking damages—reportedly three times the amount it claims to have suffered—as well as a permanent injunction prohibiting Fox News from entering into exclusionary agreements or engaging in similar conduct in the future. Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy declared, “Fox may have profited from exclusionary contracts and intimidation tactics for years, but those days are over. This lawsuit is about restoring fairness to the market and ensuring that Americans have real choice in the news they watch. If we prevail, Fox’s damages could be tripled under federal law—an outcome that would send a powerful message to any company that thinks it can monopolize public discourse.”
For now, the battle lines are drawn. The outcome of this high-stakes lawsuit could reshape not only the future of right-leaning media, but also the broader landscape of American news and public discourse.
