https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-fox-news-caving-to-dominion-could-spell-doom-for-newsmax-and-oan
How Fox’s Massive Dominion Payout Could Spell Doom for Newsmax and OAN
Fox News narrowly avoided an embarrassing trial by settling for $787.5 million, but the cost for its far-right rivals may be much steeper.
Justin Baragona
Senior Media Reporter
Updated Apr. 19, 2023 4:57PM ET / Published Apr. 19, 2023 3:05PM ET
Following Tuesday’s
stunning last-minute decision by Fox News to wave the white flag and settle with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million rather than go through a grueling six-week defamation trial,
much of the focus has centered on how this will impact the conservative cable giant going forward.
While Dominion is now in the rearview mirror for Fox, the voting machine firm still has pending lawsuits against fringe-right cable networks Newsmax and One America News, as well as Trump acolytes Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, and Patrick Byrne.
Both channels are much smaller than Fox News and don’t enjoy the large corporate backing of the conservative cable giant. Neither company is publicly traded, so it is difficult to assess their valuations.
Conservative businessman Robert Herring, who launched OAN in 2013,
pegged the network’s value in 2019 at $250 million. However, that was almost entirely due to the channel’s deal with DirecTV at the time, as an accountant swore under oath at the time that OAN’s value “would be zero” without the AT&T-backed satellite carrier. DirecTV
dropped OAN last year, followed by
other cable providers.
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, meanwhile,
claimed his channel was worth more than $200 million in late 2020. This was just as the pro-Trump network was experiencing exponential audience growth thanks to its full-throated embrace of election denialism—a tactic it used to poach MAGA viewers angry with Fox News over its Arizona call. (The channel’s ratings have fallen substantially since early 2021.)
Just like with Fox News, Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion from
both OAN and Newsmax. And while much of Dominion’s argument against Fox focused on the network’s behind-the-scenes freakout over their viewers fleeing for Newsmax and OAN after the 2020 election, the legal strategy is probably much more straightforward against the two smaller far-right channels.