Well, there’s no Scrooge-like “Bah! Humbug!” for Newsmax this Christmas. The conservative TV network has had quite the successful 2025. (And full disclosure, I am a Newsmax contributor.) Here are a few sample headlines from this year:
– **Yahoo Finance:** Newsmax stock soars, pushing market cap north of $20 billion after shocking IPO success
– **Cleeng:** How Newsmax+ Exceeded 150K Subscribers in 30 Days & Retained Over 85%
– **Forbes:** Newsmax Founder Chris Ruddy Is A Billionaire Thanks To Stock Surge
– **Newsmax:** Newsmax IPO Makes Headlines Across the Globe
– **Investopedia:** Newsmax Stock Has Soared 2,200% In Its First 2 Days Of Trading
– **Allsides:** Banker Elenowitz: Newsmax ‘Success’ As Public Company Will Continue, Revenues to Grow
And on and on go the headlines on the success of Newsmax, splashed across pages of the Internet.
### The Obvious Question: Why?
What drives the stunning success of Newsmax? To find an answer, we must remember some history — and that history begins with the late conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr.
As noted in Sam Tanenhaus’s weighty and excellent biography *Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America*, when, in 1955, a young Bill Buckley summoned the press to the Overseas Press Club in New York to “announce the birth of National Review” magazine, Buckley distributed a press release which said, in part, that NR’s mission:
> “…was ‘to change the nation’s political and intellectual climate — which, at present, is predominantly leftist.’ The magazine would argue that ‘appeasing the Soviet Union is suicidal,’ and that the Eisenhower administration had been guilty of exactly such appeasement for the past year and a half.”
For the first time, these arguments would be made in a publication liberals themselves would be obligated to read — an important first step in the conservative revolution.
The conservative revolution was indeed launched, notably in the media.
Four years before Buckley began *National Review*, the evolution of talk radio, led by conservative commentator and radio host Paul Harvey, had begun. From 1951 until his retirement in 2008, Harvey was at the forefront of a media industry that would produce conservative radio giants like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and numerous local conservative radio shows across the country.
### The Rise of Newsmax
Flash forward to 2014, as the 21st century is underway. Founder Chris Ruddy launches Newsmax TV, which quickly grew to 35 million subscribers through DirecTV and Dish Network. Today, the network has expanded by the millions, becoming a major force both in the broader media landscape and in the conservative media specifically.
As the headlines cited earlier illustrate vividly, Newsmax has become a resounding success—a decided competitor to Fox News and a media force in its own right. It has become a “go-to” source for news junkies and a massive conservative audience.
### Looking Ahead to 2026
As 2025 winds down, 2026 — an election year — begins to dawn. Without a doubt, as the campaign heats up (and it will), Newsmax will be very much at the center of the national media as the ups and downs, ins and outs of the election unfold. Not to mention as the presidential election of 2028 starts to glimmer in the distance.
Among others, NewsBusters’ own Tim Graham, the Executive Editor of NewsBusters, along with Managing Editor Curtis Houck, will be on Newsmax providing analysis of the craziness that heated election years always bring.
### Ready for What’s Next
So as Christmas approaches — now mere days away — and is quickly followed by the New Year, Newsmax, with its cast of anchors, reporters, commentators, and behind-the-scenes staff, is without a doubt ready for 2026 and whatever may come down the road that merits serious media attention.
Tune in. The election circus is getting ready to start — and with Newsmax, after a blockbuster 2025, the network will be front and center, prepared to cover 2026.
Merry Christmas!
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jeffrey-lord/2025/12/21/newsmax-has-happy-christmas
