New York, California, Oregon and five other states filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block TV station owner Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion takeover of rival Tegna, The Hill reported.
The suit alleged that the merger violated antitrust laws. In a press release, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that when broadcast media is owned by a handful of companies, people get fewer votes, less competition. As a result, communities lose critical control over the power that local journalism provides.
Why is the Nexstar-Tegna deal blocked?
Other states that joined the lawsuit included Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. They argue that the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which states that mergers that substantially restrict competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal.
What would happen if the merger were approved?
According to The Hill, if the administration of US President Donald Trump approves the proposed deal between Nexstar and Tegna, it will create the largest local broadcasting group in the country and hand over former control of local news programming in more than 70% of American households. Nexstar is already the largest local news provider in the US. It owns The Hill and NewsNation, along with stations in top US markets such as Chicago and Los Angeles.
Will the FCC revise existing rules?
The report suggests that if the Nexstar-Tegna deal is approved, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would have to revise existing rules that limit the share of American households that can be reached by a single broadcaster nationwide. Currently, a single company is prohibited from reaching more than 39% of American households. The proposed agreement would increase the combined entity’s share to 60% of households.
Trump backs Nexstar-Tegna deal
Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr have expressed support for the proposed merger. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump endorsed the deal in a Truth Social post last month, writing that a larger Nexstar would balance out “Fake News National TV Networks.”
At the same time, Carr wrote in a post on X: “President Trump is absolutely right. National networks like Comcast & Disney have amassed too much power. They’ve been pushing this Hollywood & New York programming all over the country for years with no real checks. Let’s do it and give them real competition.”
States decide to block Nexstar deal
The development comes weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that several states planned to sue to block the proposed merger. The move highlights the legal risks that continue to surround media mergers despite the Trump administration’s support for big deals.
Citing sources, the report suggested that the attorneys general of those eight states would file suit if the deal received regulatory clearance from the FCC. The lawsuit by Bonta and others shows how lawyers now approach blocking deals as the Trump administration takes a looser view of consolidation.
Bonta’s office is also reviewing Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that would combine two historic Hollywood studios and could put CNN and CBS News under the same corporate ownership.
