Search Articles
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CN) — In the continuing legal battle of the right-leaning news giants, Newsmax slapped Fox News with rehashed accusations of violating antitrust laws by pressuring cable TV and streaming distributors to not carry its rival following a Thursday transfer of the case from Wisconsin federal court.
In a 39-page complaint, refiled in the Southern District of Florida against Fox Corporation and Fox News Network from Wisconsin, Newsmax referenced “no-carry” provisions and financial penalties if distributors carry the channel by “requiring the distributors to carry and pay high fees for Fox’s little-watched channels like Fox Business.”
“Fox Corporation has long engaged in an exclusionary scheme to increase and maintain its dominance in the market for U.S. right-leaning pay TV news, resulting in suppression of competition in that market that harms consumers, competition, and Newsmax Broadcasting,” Newsmax says in its lawsuit, which has already been dismissed once in the Southern District of Florida.
Newsmax blames its smaller market share and lack of major advertisers on Fox News’ anticompetitive behavior, claiming it’s being prevented from becoming “a more valuable media property.”
The right-wing cable news outlet says Fox has blocked Newsmax from platforms like Fubo, Sling TV and Hulu.
“Newsmax is far from the only victim,” the outlet says in its complaint. “Defendants’ anticompetitive conduct impedes competition in the entire right-leaning pay TV news market, deprives consumers of genuine choice and increases the cost consumers must bear to access right-leaning news.”
The lawsuit mirrors an earlier one filed in Florida in September. After a judge dismissed that case as a “shotgun pleading,” and the outlet chose not to amend its complaint, Newsmax refiled in Wisconsin federal court, claiming the same violations of the federal Sherman Act but also violations of the state’s antitrust law.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Conley of the Western District of Wisconsin accused Newsmax of “forum shopping” and transferred the case back to the Southern District of Florida.
“Because plaintiff has failed to provide any explanation why this case should be tried in Wisconsin or why it dismissed the Florida action to refile here after receiving an adverse order, the court is left with the conclusion that plaintiff engaged in forum (or at least judge) shopping,” Conley wrote.
Newsmax and Fox Corporation could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a previous statement, a spokesperson for Fox News scoffed at the lawsuit: “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 has long dominated the cable TV news market, though Newsmax has gained ground slowly since its 1998 inception. Last year, the network based in Boca Raton, Florida, boasted 26 million quarterly viewers. In the lawsuit, Newsmax says Fox viewed the upstart outlet as a threat, referencing past remarks by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and owner Rupert Murdoch.
Newsmax also claims Fox did more than just unfairly compete by using exclusionary agreements with distributors: the news giant hired law firms and private detectives to smear Newsmax executives, according to the lawsuit.
Newsmax bases its antitrust positions in part on the unique space right-wing media holds in the corporate media world.
“The right-leaning pay TV news market is distinct from general news markets due to substantial differences in consumer behavior and preferences,” Newsmax says in the complaint. “Right-leaning audiences do not regard left-leaning news channels (e.g., CNN, MSNBC) as substitutes. Due to deeply held political affiliations, 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.”
Newsmax seeks an injunction on Fox’s exclusionary agreements and unspecified damages. Two law firms specializing in antitrust litigation, Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel and Frederick, and Sperling Kenny Nachwalter, represent Newsmax.
Follow @alexbpickettSubscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
