Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesNexstar Media Group closed its acquisition of fellow broadcast station group owner Tegna after sealing regulatory approval, despite antitrust lawsuits filed against the deal in recent days.Nexstar’s $6.2 billion merger with Tegna brings together more than 260 local broadcast TV affiliate stations across the U.S. Nexstar and Tegna, like other broadcast station group peers, have been looking to consolidate as the industry faces the same challenges as its cable and entertainment media counterparts — namely the drop in pay-TV customers due to the rise of streaming and tech options. “This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve. 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,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said in a statement.”We are grateful to President Trump, [FCC] Chairman Carr, and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and enabling this transaction to move forward.”In February, President Donald Trump endorsed the merger between Nexstar and Tegna in a TruthSocial post after months of criticism about the potential effects of the deal.The proposed acquisition, which was announced in August, had been expected to close in the second half of 2026. Broadcast station owners run the affiliate stations of the major networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, and are known for airing local news, sports and other broadcast content. The companies remain profitable due to hefty fees they receive from pay-TV distributors, and have argued that consolidation would preserve local TV news. However, decades-old laws have prevented such mergers from happening in recent years. The greenlight from the FCC and DOJ allows the deal to go through by waiving law that prevents any one company from owning broadcast stations that reach more than 39% of the U.S. TV households. However, in recent days two federal antitrust lawsuits were filed in a move to block the merger — one from attorney generals in eight states, including California and New York, and another from satellite and streaming TV provider DirecTV. The lawsuits each argue that the combination is anticompetitive and would drive up customer costs, reduce competition, lead to the closure of local newsrooms and cause TV blackouts of stations due to carriage fights with distributors over pricing. “DIRECTV supports the action taken by the states and has determined it is necessary to join this effort to protect competition and consumers,” said Michael Hartman, general counsel and chief external affairs officer at DirecTV in a release. “We have consistently made clear that this merger is anti-competitive and not in the public interest and, if it goes forward, will trigger a wave of similar consolidation.”Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. …
