Newsmax IPO Debuts on NYSE, Stock Soars 500%

A pure-play TV network IPO in the U.S. is a rarity, with Dealogic data showing there hasn’t been one comparable to Newsmax in recent decades. Newsmax’s IPO comes at a time when traditional cable TV has suffered as consumers flee the bundle in favor of streaming. Now, news and live sports nab the biggest audiences and most advertising revenue dollars.

The debut also comes as the audience for right-wing prime-time content has grown with the rise of Trump and other right-leaning politicians in recent elections.

While the cable news landscape is dominated by Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, Newsmax has grown its audience in recent years and is offered through most major pay-TV providers.

Overall, Newsmax ranks in the top 20 among cable network average viewership in both prime time and daytime, Nielsen said Monday.

As its popularity has risen, Newsmax has negotiated receiving licensing fees from cable TV providers. In its early days, Newsmax relied on advertising revenue. In 2023, it resolved a dispute with DirecTV — which led to it being dropped from the pay TV provider for a short period — after pushing to receive fees.

As the company went public, Ruddy downplayed the pro-Trump leanings of Newsmax — which reached a $40 million settlement last year with Smartmatic over the network’s false claims that the voting machine company helped to rig the 2020 presidential election in favor of former President Joe Biden.