Trump administration approves Nextstar takeover of Tegna

The Trump administration on Thursday approved Nexstar’s $6.2 billion takeover of rival TV station owner Tegna in a merger that will reshape the local media landscape across the country.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department approved the merger a day after eight state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit to stop it.  The FCC allowed Nexstar, the largest TV station owner in the country, to acquire Tegna by waiving a long-standing federal limit on the size and scope of TV broadcasters. 

That provision, known as the National Television Ownership Rule, prevented an information monopoly by barring a single entity from owning television stations that collectively reach more than 39% of all U.S. households. 

Now, Nexstar will own and operate 265 local TV stations across 44 states. That’s on top of operating NewsNation networks and the CW. There are 210 TV markets in America, and Nexstar will operate in about 132 of them. 

In a statement on the merger, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook thanked President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for “enabling this transaction to move forward.” 

When Nexstar filed for the merger in August, Trump was opposed to the idea. But after the company yanked late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air in the wake of comments he made about Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was fatally shot the next month, the president abruptly reversed course. 

Trump, who recently applauded himself for “inventing” the term “fake news,” urged the FCC to approve the merger in a TruthSocial post earlier this year. “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote. 

“Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future. GET THAT DEAL DONE!” he added. 

But those who are opposed have serious concerns about the implications the merger will have for America’s local news and information landscape. National broadcasters have received multiple threats from Trump and Carr over what they believe to be unfavorable coverage of the administration. 

Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic FCC commissioner, condemned the merger in a statement. Gomez said it had been approved “behind closed doors” with “no transparency for the consumers and communities who will bear the consequences.”