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In a significant development for local broadcasting, Nexstar Media Group has received the green light from both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice to proceed with its acquisition of TEGNA. This approval marks a pivotal expansion for Nexstar, already recognized as the nation’s leading provider of local news.
The announcement came on Thursday, shortly after the FCC revealed it had granted Nexstar a special waiver. This waiver pertains to a regulation that limits the percentage of U.S. households a single broadcaster can reach, paving the way for Nexstar to vastly extend its reach.
With this acquisition, Nexstar will now oversee local newscasts available in over 70 percent of American homes, significantly bolstering its influence and presence in the broadcasting landscape. This move reaffirms Nexstar’s position as a media powerhouse, with its holdings including cable channel NewsNation and The Hill, among others.
TEGNA, the acquired entity, operates 64 television stations nationwide. Among these is WTSP 10 Tampa Bay, serving the vibrant Tampa Bay area. The acquisition is set to enhance Nexstar’s already expansive network, promising to deliver local news to a broader audience across the country.
TEGNA has 64 television stations across the country, including one in the Tampa Bay area, WTSP 10 Tampa Bay.
“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve,” said Perry Sook, Nexstar’s Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. “By bringing these two outstanding companies together, Nexstar will be a stronger, more dynamic enterprise — better positioned to deliver exceptional journalism and local programming with enhanced assets, capabilities, and talent.”
The company, Sook said, is “grateful to President Trump, Chairman Carr, and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and enabling this transaction to move forward.”
News of the merger’s approval came less than a day after attorneys general from seven states filed a lawsuit in California to stop the deal, arguing it violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which holds that mergers that substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal.
The seven AGs argued the mega deal would put “more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, removing control from the communities they report to, cutting local jobs, and significantly impacting the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.”
The merger’s defenders argued before Congress during a hearing last month that the FCC’s current ownership cap rules are outdated and that it kept it from competing with major tech companies like Amazon and Google in the news and information space.
FCC chair Brendan Carr said as part of his department’s approval of the merger, Nexstar had made “concrete commitments” on “affordability, localism,” and what it said is a “commitment to divest a number of TV stations.”