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Fox News and Newsmax television studios are seen in the Fiserv Forum on the day before the Republican Convention (RNC) on July 14, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The RNC will be held in Milwaukee from July 15-18.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Newsmax went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, as the conservative cable news network audience has grown after the election of President Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians.
The network began trading under the symbol "NMAX" late Monday morning, opening at $14 a share after pricing at $10 a share. It soared more than 500% by midday in volatile trading.
In September, Newsmax announced its plans for an initial public offering in early 2025. On Friday, the company said it raised $75 million through the sale of 7.5 million shares of Class B common stock at a price of $10 per share.
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 primetime content has grown on the back of Trump and other right-leaning politicians in recent elections.
Christopher Ruddy, the company's founder and CEO, said Monday on CNBC's "Squawk Box" he saw an opportunity to join the mix since Fox Corp.'s Fox News didn't have a competitor in the "center right market."
"I think there was a demand for more competition against Fox," Ruddy said Monday. Ruddy founded Newsmax in 1998 as a digital offering before it became a cable TV network in 2014.
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.
Ruddy on Monday said that Newsmax is the "number four cable news channel in the United States, right behind CNN." Nielsen confirmed Monday that Newsmax ratings have "consistently" been in the fourth spot behind Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
Overall, Newsmax ranks in the top 20 among cable network average viewership in both primetime and daytime, Nielsen said Monday.
"I think it's a pretty big achievement for a 10-year-old, new cable company," Ruddy said Monday on "Squawk Box."
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.
"We believe we're conservative with an independent news mission, and ask tough questions of the Trump administration," Ruddy said Monday on "Squawk Box."
In a post on social media platform X last week, Ruddy said he received a call from Trump and the conversation touched on various topics, including the company's upcoming IPO. "I shared with Potus my new saying: 'A rising Trump lifts all boats!'"
