Newsmax sues Fox News in battle of right-wing TV networks
The right -wing American media network Perses Fox News on what it claims to be anti -competitive tactics to remove competition, creating a legal battle in the American conservative information space.
The trial, filed before a Federal Tribunal in Florida, accuses Fox News of using its market power to force television suppliers to restrict competing chains on the right.
“Newsmax cannot continue its path with their own competitive failures on the market to make the headlines simply because they cannot attract viewers,” said a spokesperson for Fox News.
The company, owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, is regularly classified the most popular conservative media in the United States with a market value of almost $ 26 billion (19 billion pounds Sterling).
Fox News “has long embarked on an exclusion system to increase and maintain its domination on the market for American paid television news,” wrote Newsmax lawyers in its antitrust complaint.
It is alleged that Fox News uses exclusive content agreements to block other right -wing channels and imposes financial sanctions on providers who carry other conservative networks, among other exclusion tactics.
The costume also accuses Fox News of using intimidation, in particular the pressures of his guests of not appearing on rival networks and of hiring private investigators to target Newsmax managers
“Fox may have taken advantage of exclusion contracts and intimidation tactics for years, but these days are over,” said Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy.
He asked a judge to declare the conduct of illegal Fox News and prevent him from concluding what he says to be exclusion contracts, in addition to monetary damages.
Newsmax, founded in 1998 with a market value of $ 1.8 billion, has gained ground in recent years, supported by the support of President Donald Trump.
The company had its own legal problems following Joe Biden’s electoral victory in 2020 against Trump.
Newsmax agreed to pay $ 67 million (50 million pounds sterling) to set a defamation trial filed by a voting machine company for false complaints that she has fled the elections.
Dominion, who filed the case in 2021, accused Newsmax of disseminating “false lies”.
Fox News was also involved in a dispute with Dominion, agreeing to set up a trial of $ 787.5 million (634 million pounds sterling) after the election.
