A federal court has granted a one-week extension of an emergency order blocking a massive $6.2 billion acquisition between television broadcasting companies Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, while the judge considers whether additional delays are warranted.
The legal challenge comes from eight state attorneys general along with DirecTV, who filed suit claiming the combination of these television broadcasting powerhouses would drive up costs for consumers while damaging local news coverage. The plaintiffs petitioned U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, to prevent the acquisition from moving forward until their antitrust case reaches resolution.
Legal representatives for Nexstar counter that the acquisition will enhance rather than diminish local news programming and coverage.
Judge Nunley pushed back the temporary restraining order deadline to April 17, explaining the additional time would allow him to properly consider whether to issue a more extended preliminary injunction. The judge also adjusted the current order to permit both broadcasting companies to conduct “reasonable steps” for routine operations, including compliance with federal debt reporting requirements.
The acquisition, which was first announced the previous year and received Federal Communications Commission approval, would establish a media company controlling 265 television stations across 44 states plus the District of Columbia. The majority of these stations serve as local affiliates for the major broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
The broadcasting deal required sign-off from the Republican Trump administration’s FCC since regulators had to waive existing restrictions on how many local stations a single company may control.
During his initial ruling imposing the temporary restraining order, the judge expressed concern that the merger could enable Nexstar to charge higher rates to multichannel video programming distributors such as DirecTV. He noted that if these distributors declined to accept rate increases, they might risk their customers losing access to popular programming like Sunday NFL games.
