Republican state attorneys general join lawsuit to stop $6.2B local TV merger
NBC News • • business
Key Points:
- Five additional states—Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont—have joined a federal antitrust lawsuit led by California to block the Nexstar-Tegna merger, making the legal challenge bipartisan.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the merger, stating it would allow Nexstar and Tegna to dominate the media landscape, raise prices, and reduce journalistic jobs.
- The lawsuit now includes 13 states, with a mix of Democratic and Republican attorneys general, and follows a preliminary injunction issued by a U.S. District Judge pausing the merger.
- Despite the legal challenge, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Justice Department approved the merger last month, with the FCC waiving ownership rules to allow the combined entity to reach up to 80% of U.S. households.
- The merger would create the largest local TV station operator in the U.S., owning 264 stations, and has received public support from former President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
