By Mike Scarcella
(Reuters) -Newsmax sued its larger conservative news rival Fox Corp in federal court in Florida on Wednesday, accusing the media giant of suppressing competition in the U.S. market for right-leaning pay TV and leaving consumers with less choice.
The lawsuit in West Palm Beach alleged Fox and its affiliate Fox News Network violated antitrust law by coercing distributors to exclude competitors such as Newsmax or to restrict their reach.
“Fox’s campaign to stunt Newsmax’s business has delayed, for almost a decade, Newsmax’s growth in pay TV distribution,” the lawsuit said.
In a statement, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said his company was focused on restoring fairness to the market and ensuring that Americans have “real choice” in the news they watch.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court order that would bar Fox’s alleged misconduct.
“Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers,” Fox News Media said in a statement.
Fox News has maintained a strong lead over its cable news competitors. Republican U.S. President Donald Trump promoted Newsmax during his first administration, while he often criticized other outlets’ coverage of him. The lawsuit said Newsmax’s ratings increased before and after the 2020 presidential election.
In July, Trump Media & Technology Group launched its TV streaming platform, Truth+, which featured Newsmax.
Newsmax was founded in 1998 and launched Newsmax TV as a pay television channel in 2014. It debuted this year as a publicly traded company. Newsmax said in the lawsuit that its programming offered an alternative to what it called Fox’s “establishment platform.”
Newsmax says its media properties reach more than 40 million Americans.
In August, Newsmax agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false claims that the voting machine company rigged the 2020 election against Trump. Newsmax said it stood by its coverage but did not believe it could get a fair trial.
Last year, the outlet reached a confidential settlement with voting machine maker Smartmatic, which alleged it was defamed by Newsmax’s false claims that its machines were rigged.
Fox Corp and Fox News in 2023 settled a similar defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting for $787.5 million.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Nia Williams)
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