Key Points:
- Newsmax refiled its antitrust lawsuit in Wisconsin, accusing Fox of coercive tactics like “block-booking” to limit rivals.
- A Florida judge dismissed the earlier case; Fox says Newsmax is “forum shopping” and blames its weak ratings.
- Fox News leads cable news with top distribution fees, while Newsmax has risen to fourth place with recent audience gains.
Newsmax has reset its lawsuit against Fox Corporation and its cable network Fox News, accusing the media giant of using strong-arm tactics to bull pay television distributors into carrying its channel to the detriment of potential deals with smaller rivals.
The re-filing of its antitrust lawsuit comes just a few days after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed an earlier complaint filed by Newsmax because it was not properly written for the jurisdiction where it was filed. The Florida federal district prohibits “shotgun” pleadings that make numerous charges while re-stating allegations for each charge. Newsmax was given a deadline of Thursday to re-file its case.
In its new complaint — which Newsmax chose to file in Wisconsin last week, despite its earlier lawsuit being filed in Florida — Newsmax alleges Fox has violated federal antitrust law by coercing distributors to limit or exclude competitors like Newsmax from carriage. The lawsuit is substantially similar to the one filed earlier this month in Florida, but adds a claim of “block-booking,” a practice where a programmer requires distributors to carry less-popular channels in exchange for access to marquee content. Newsmax claims Fox uses this strategy to force operators that want access to Fox News into also carrying lower-demand programming.
“As a result of these tactics, Newsmax and other competitors are unfairly disadvantaged, and consumers are deprived of alternative conservative programming,” the company said in a statement. Newsmax added that federal law allows the lawsuit to be filed in any jurisdiction where the alleged harm took place.
In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson accused Newsmax of “forum shopping” by moving its lawsuit from Florida to Wisconsin, and said the case “will not change the fact that Newsmax’s problems have nothing to do with distribution and everything to do with abysmal ratings.”
To that end, Fox News consistently ranks as the most-watched cable channel in America, besting sports network ESPN in monthly viewership averages. It also regularly tops the three largest broadcast networks, which have wider reach. Its position as the most-viewed cable network has helped Fox Corporation earn significant distribution fees charged to cable and satellite providers; Fox News is the most-expensive cable news channel carried on most platforms.
As a condition of carriage, Fox typically requires cable providers that offer Fox News to also distribute its other networks, including two cable sports channels and the Fox Business Network. Fox-owned local TV stations are typically included in this arrangement, as are Fox affiliates on streaming cable-like platforms.
Newsmax typically ranks as the fourth most-watched cable network, with its viewership increasing over the past few months as the channel leans into coverage of the second term of President Donald Trump. Newsmax has also benefitted from reaching viewers on new platforms like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV, though the network’s attorneys initially said those deals were initially hamstrung by Fox’s onerous distribution terms. (Fox News is carried on both platforms.)
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