Judge Dismisses Newsmax’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Fox News

The complaint was tossed on technical grounds, with Newsmax vowing to refile by a Sept. 11 deadline.

Signage for the Newsmax television broadcasting network is displayed at a broadcast TV booth at the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas, on May 28, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Newsmax’s antitrust suit against Fox Corp. over the way it was drafted, but the upstart news outlet has vowed to refile.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in South Florida dismissed the case without prejudice on Sept. 5, saying Newsmax’s complaint qualified as an impermissible “shotgun pleading” that lumped all prior allegations into each count. She noted that the 11th Circuit has repeatedly condemned this drafting tactic as confusing and unworkable.

In her order, Cannon dismissed the complaint without prejudice and set a Sept. 11 deadline for Newsmax to submit a revised filing that organizes its claims more clearly. Each count, she said, must identify its own legal basis and supporting facts without simply repeating every allegation in the complaint.

Newsmax characterized the ruling as a technical matter and said it will refile the lawsuit.

A Fox News spokesperson told The Epoch Times that it sees the lawsuit as frivolous.

“Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement, which was issued before the dismissal.

Allegations Against Fox

Newsmax filed its complaint on Sept. 3, alleging that Fox has long abused its dominance in conservative pay television to shut out competitors.

“Fox leverages this market power to coerce distributors into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax,” the filing said.

The lawsuit cited a variety of alleged tactics. Among them were “no-carry” provisions in carriage agreements, in which distributors were allegedly pressured not to include Newsmax if they wanted to retain Fox News. Other provisions required distributors to carry Fox’s less popular channels—such as Fox Business and Fox Sports 2—on their basic packages if they attempted to place Newsmax there, triggering tens of millions of dollars in additional fees.

Newsmax also accused Fox of using intimidation to protect its market share. According to the filing, Fox ran negative online campaigns against Newsmax executives, blocked the network from being carried on Fox-owned streaming service Tubi, and pressured high-profile guests not to appear on Newsmax.

“When Newsmax confronted Fox regarding this anticompetitive conduct, Fox News responded, ‘Welcome to the big leagues,’” the complaint alleges.

Newsmax alleges that Fox’s tactics kept it off major platforms, stunting its growth and costing millions in lost revenue. The company is seeking damages under federal and Florida antitrust laws, which could be tripled if it wins.

Founded in 1998 and launched as a TV channel in 2014, Newsmax went public this year with a market capitalization of about $1.2 billion. It averages a fraction of Fox News’s viewership but has positioned itself as a leading right-leaning alternative.

Fox News, launched in 1996 by Rupert Murdoch, remains the most-watched U.S. cable news channel, averaging about 2 million primetime viewers in early 2025. Fox’s dominance allows it to charge distributors around $2.18 per subscriber per month, making it the most lucrative cable news network by far.