Newsmax Broadcasting, LLC, a subsidiary of Newsmax Inc., has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox Corporation and Fox News Network, LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The antitrust expert quoted in the NYT calls the case “weak”. Bill Baer, who led antitrust efforts at the Justice Department in the Obama administration and is not involved with the lawsuit, reviewed Newsmax’s complaint and said that “on its face, it looks pretty weak.”
Baer said that Newsmax might have trouble establishing that the right-leaning cable news ecosphere functions as a discrete market from the overall realm of TV news, in which Fox News competes with major outlets like CNN and MSNBC. “There’s a high burden they’ll have to meet,” he said of the plaintiff.
A Fox SpoX released the following statement: “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”
- Monopolistic Practices: Newsmax claims Fox News, leveraging its dominance as a "must-have" channel, coerces pay-TV distributors into restrictive agreements that either exclude Newsmax or limit its reach by placing it in less accessible premium tiers. These tactics include:"No Carry" Provisions: Fox allegedly imposes explicit or tacit conditions in contracts that prevent distributors from carrying rival right-leaning channels like Newsmax.
- Financial Penalties: Distributors face penalties, such as higher fees or requirements to carry less popular Fox channels (e.g., Fox Business), if they include Newsmax in basic packages.
- Contractual Barriers: Fox inserts clauses that hinder competitors’ ability to compete fairly, such as "drag-down provisions" that penalize distributors for promoting Newsmax.
- Intimidation Tactics: Newsmax accuses Fox of pressuring high-profile guests not to appear on its programs, hiring private detectives to investigate Newsmax executives, and orchestrating online smear campaigns, including through a social media firm called Disruptor, allegedly linked to Fox.
- Impact on Growth: The lawsuit asserts that Fox’s actions have delayed Newsmax’s expansion on platforms like Hulu, Sling TV, Fubo, and other major pay-TV services for nearly a decade, preventing it from achieving greater audience reach, ratings, and advertiser appeal.