• Newsmax has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox News in a Florida federal court.
• The lawsuit alleges that Fox employs exclusionary practices to suppress competition among right-leaning news outlets.
• Fox News has denied these allegations, attributing Newsmax's failures to its inability to attract viewers.

Right-wing cable news outlet Newsmax has filed a lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the company of holding an illegal monopoly in the right-leaning television news market. The antitrust lawsuit was submitted to a federal court in Florida and claims that Fox engages in an "exclusionary scheme to increase and maintain its dominance," which restricts competition and harms consumer choice, according to Business Insider and The Hill.

The lawsuit asserts that Fox News coerces distributors into not carrying or marginalizing competing networks like Newsmax, resulting in limited exposure for smaller news channels. Newsmax alleges that Fox has leveraged its market power to intimidate potential distributors and guests, thereby fortifying its dominant position, as noted by NPR and HuffPost.

In its complaint, Newsmax contends that Fox's business practices include imposing financial penalties on distributors who carry competing right-leaning news outlets, as well as using private investigators to target Newsmax executives. This aggressive approach, the lawsuit argues, is designed to stifle competition and maintain Fox's supremacy in the conservative media landscape, according to BBC and HuffPost.

Newsmax is seeking a jury trial and aims for the court to declare Fox's conduct unlawful, along with an unspecified amount in damages. Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, expressed confidence, stating that "Fox may have profited from exclusionary contracts and intimidation tactics for years, but those days are over," referencing the ongoing battle for viewers in a politically charged media environment, as highlighted by Business Insider and The Hill.