A tug-of-war to buy DC’s channel 9 owner emerges

Jeff Clabaugh | jclabaugh@wtop.com
August 19, 2025, 9:50 AM

Tysons, Virginia-based broadcaster Tegna, whose 64 stations include WUSA Channel 9 in D.C., agreed Tuesday morning to be acquired by larger local TV station owner Nexstar in a deal worth more than $6 billion in cash and debt. But Hunt Valley, Maryland broadcaster Sinclair Inc. has stepped in with a counteroffer to acquire Tegna

The Wall Street Journal reports Sinclair’s offer of $25 to $30 a share would trump the $22 per share offer Tegna has now agreed to. The Nexstar deal would require both regulatory and shareholder approval. …Tegna said its board has unanimously approved the Nexstar acquisition.

The offer from Sinclair was not mentioned in the announcement issued Tuesday morning jointly by Tegna and Nexstar confirming their agreement.

Long-standing rules that limit the number of TV stations any one company can own are in flux, and regulatory changes could lift some of those banks. The Federal Communications Commission has been reconsidering caps on stations.

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Jeff Clabaugh
Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.
jclabaugh@wtop.com
@wtopclabaugh.