Orig. WSJ Article but paywalled, so here's article from The Australian Business Review:
Trump allies explored buyout of Newsmax TV as Fox News alternative
For nearly two years, allies of President Trump have been exploring ways to build up a formidable competitor to Fox News. One target they recently zeroed in on: the fledgling pro-Trump cable channel Newsmax TV.
Hicks Equity Partners, a private-equity firm with ties to a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, has held talks in recent months about acquiring and investing in Newsmax, according to people familiar with the matter, part of a larger effort that could also include a streaming-video service.
Newsmax’s viewership has risen sharply since Election Day, as it wins over viewers loyal to Mr. Trump who are frustrated that Fox News and other networks have declared Democrat Joe Biden the president-elect. Newsmax hosts have promoted Mr. Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the election was stolen; his campaign hasn’t provided evidence of widespread irregularities.
It is unclear whether Hicks Equity’s talks with Newsmax will move forward. The discussions show the belief among some investors and allies of Mr. Trump that there is room to mount a real challenge to Fox News, which has dominated the conservative media landscape for two decades.
Mr. Trump and Fox News have had a complicated relationship. The network’s opinion hosts are highly supportive of the president. He devours Fox content, tweets and about it and is influenced by it in policy and personnel decisions, aides say. Yet he spars with the network when he feels it is criticizing or undermining him.
The election’s aftermath has stoked those tensions: Mr. Trump has criticized Fox News on Twitter while promoting segments on the network favorable to him and heaping praise on Newsmax and One America News Network, another small, far-right channel.
Creating a television network to rival Fox News, which has led the cable-news ratings for years, is a longshot. Newsmax’s average prime-time audience jumped 156% to 223,000 during the week of the election, according to Nielsen data, and last Thursday crossed one million viewers from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., about half of Fox’s audience during the time period. Sustaining those gains when interest in the election subsides won’t be easy. Fox averaged nearly six million prime-time viewers during the week of the election, about 22% higher than the previous four weeks.
The cable-TV business as a whole is under pressure as consumers increasingly “cut the cord.” Big media conglomerates are generally in a better position to weather that storm than smaller or independent competitors, because they have more leverage to extract monthly fees from distributors.
Wall Street Journal parent News Corp and Fox News-parent Fox Corp. share common ownership.
In an interview, Newsmax Media Chief Executive Chris Ruddy said he has had many discussions with interested parties over the years looking to buy or invest in Newsmax. “Newsmax never had any deal with the Hicks group, and if it’s true they were using our name for the purposes of capital fundraising, that is wholly inappropriate,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Fox Corp. had no comment. The company’s chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch, said on a recent earnings call that the company “loves competition.” The Trump campaign declined to comment. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/the-wall-street-journal/trump-allies-explored-buyout-of-newsmax-tv-as-fox-news-alternative/news-story/436bab1c238aa64da3bd71a131d10b72