SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge has temporarily halted the massive $6.2 billion acquisition that would combine television station powerhouses Nexstar Media Group and Tegna while antitrust concerns work their way through the courts.
Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley of the U.S. District Court issued his decision Friday evening, determining that the coalition of eight state attorneys general and DirecTV challenging the deal had a strong chance of success in their legal fight.
The proposed acquisition, which was first unveiled last year and received Federal Communications Commission approval, would establish a media empire controlling 265 television stations across 44 states plus Washington D.C. The vast majority of these stations serve as local affiliates for ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.
Judge Nunley had previously issued an emergency three-week prohibition on the transaction. Following court hearings on April 7 where he listened to arguments about extending that ban, he decided to maintain the block until the lawsuit filed by the eight state attorneys general and DirecTV reaches a conclusion.
The legal challengers, all Democratic attorneys general, along with DirecTV argue that allowing this merger to proceed would result in increased costs for viewers, damage local news coverage, and violate federal monopoly prevention laws.
Legal representatives for Nexstar countered in court that both the FCC and Department of Justice had already conducted thorough reviews and given their approval. They emphasized that FCC requirements would actually force the company to enhance rather than reduce local news programming and community coverage.
The transaction required sign-off from the Republican-led FCC under the Trump administration because federal regulations had to be waived regarding limits on station ownership by a single company. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced in March that Nexstar had committed to selling six stations as part of the agreement.
In his emergency ruling, Judge Nunley highlighted concerns that the merger would give Nexstar control over two or potentially three major network affiliates in 31 television markets. He warned that once this consolidation happens, cable and satellite providers like DirecTV would be forced to accept Nexstar’s demands for increased broadcasting fees or face the possibility of subscribers losing access to popular programming such as NFL Sunday games.
