FCC green-lights Nexstar's $6.2B merger with rival TV station owner Tegna

Source: NBC News

Media
FCC green-lights Nexstar's $6.2B merger with rival TV station owner Tegna

The FCC approved the deal less than a day after eight state attorneys general sued to block it. The combined entity would become the nation’s largest operator of local TV stations.


-------- Signage is displayed outside Tegna Inc. headquarters in McLean, Virginia, in 2020. Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

March 19, 2026, 7:26 PM EDT / Updated March 19, 2026, 7:40 PM EDT
By Daniel Arkin

The Federal Communications Commission has signed off on broadcast station owner Nexstar’s $6.2 billion deal to acquire rival company Tegna, a merger that would create the largest operator of local television stations in the country.

In a news release Thursday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency waived a rule that bars a single company from owning TV stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. The combined entity would cover at least 60%. ... “Waiving that rule here is consistent with longstanding FCC authorities and doing so promotes the underlying purpose of the FCC’s media regulations by promoting competition, localism, and diversity,” Carr said in a statement.

The FCC’s announcement came less than a day after a coalition of attorneys general for eight states, including California and New York, filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger, arguing that the tie-up violates federal antitrust law.

Nexstar also secured regulatory approval from the Department of Justice, Nexstar chief executive Perry Sook said in a news release. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/media/fcc-greenlights-nexstars-62b-merger-rival-tv-station-owner-tegna-rcna237953