[23] The channel primarily broadcasts from Newsmax's studio on Manhattan's East Side in New York City, with headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida and Washington, D.C.[24][25][better source needed] CEO Christopher Ruddy has compared the network to Fox News.

[26] Similarly, Newsmax has hired many former Fox News program hosts, including Greg Kelly, Rob Schmitt, Bob Sellers, and Heather Childers.

[29] Businessweek Bloomberg reported that Newsmax planned to build off its success as a digital media player to challenge Fox News in the traditional cable arena while developing a stake in the emerging streaming OTT business.

[39][40][41] After the election was won by Democrat Joe Biden, Newsmax struck a defiant tone, focusing on conspiracy theories and allegations of voter fraud as a way to attract Fox News viewers angered by what they saw as insufficient loyalty to Trump.

[43] CNN's Brian Stelter, in an on-air interview, asked Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy why the network chose to air "election denialism" and "bogus voter fraud stuff," to which Ruddy replied that the network featured all points of view and argued that all of the other major news outlets who had reported Biden's election win were "rushing.

[45] On December 7, 2020, Greg Kelly Reports beat its timeslot competitor on Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, in average key demographic viewership for the first time (229,000 to 203,000), while Stelter observed that overall the program "has nearly a million viewers on a good night".

The company stated that the decision was not based on the network's content, but because of Newsmax wanting to move to more traditional retransmission consent arrangements where providers pay to carry the network (rather than Newsmax paying providers to carry the channel), while simultaneously being available at no charge via YouTube and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platforms.

[52] Newsmax's retransmission consent agreement with DirecTV and others required it to wind down the free streaming simulcast of its cable news channel, which it did on November 1, 2023.

Some online providers began to carry the secondary channel Newsmax2 instead, which features taped news rundowns and 'best-of' content with occasional live simulcasting with Newsmax TV.