Nexstar, Tegna merger closes after winning regulatory approval

Nextstar Media Group other broadcast station closes buyout of group owner Tegna after sealing regulatory approvalDespite antitrust lawsuits filed against the deal in recent days.

Nexstar’s $6.2 billion merger with Tegna brings together more than 260 local TV affiliate stations across the U.S.

Nexstar and Tegna, like their broadcast station group peers, are seeking to merge as the industry faces the same challenges as its cable and entertainment media counterparts, namely a decline in pay-TV customers due to increased broadcast and technology options.

“This transaction is vital to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve. By bringing these two outstanding companies together, Nexstar will be a stronger, more dynamic organization, better positioned to deliver exceptional journalism and local programming with enhanced assets, talent and capabilities,” said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook. he said. expression.

“We are grateful to President Trump. [FCC] “We thank Chairman Carr and the Department of Justice for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and enabling this transaction to move forward.”

In February, President Donald Trump supported the merger between Nexstar and Tegna in a TruthSocial post after months of criticism about the deal’s potential impact.

The proposed acquisition, announced in August, was expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.

Broadcast station owners manage affiliate stations of major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and are known for broadcasting local news, sports and other broadcast content. The companies remain profitable because of the higher fees they receive from pay-TV distributors and argue that consolidation will preserve local TV news.

But decades-old laws have prevented such mergers from happening in recent years.

The green light from the FCC and DOJ allows the deal to happen by waiving the law that prevents any company from owning broadcast stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. TV households.

But two federal antitrust lawsuits have recently been filed in an attempt to block the merger; one by attorneys general in eight states, including California and New York, and the other by satellite and TV broadcast provider DirecTV.

lawsuits each argues that the combination is anticompetitive and would increase customer costs, reduce competition, lead to the closure of local newsrooms, and cause TV stations to close due to carriage fights with distributors over pricing.

“DIRECTV supports the action taken by the states and has determined that joining this effort is necessary to protect competition and consumers,” Michael Hartman, DirecTV’s general counsel and chief external affairs officer, said in a statement. “We have consistently made clear that this merger is anti-competitive and not in the public interest and, if it went forward, would trigger a similar wave of consolidation.”