Nexstar Media‘s proposed $6.2 billion takeover of local TV station rival Tegna is being challenged in court by eight state attorneys general, who argue that the merger represents an illegal consolidation of broadcasters that would raise prices for pay-TV customers and “degrade” local news coverage in communities nationwide.
Nexstar is the U.S.’s biggest local TV station group, with 201 owned or partner stations in 116 markets. Its deal for Tegna, which has 64 stations in 51 markets, would bring the combined company to 265 stations. Nexstar announced the agreement to buy Tegna last August — which would push its holdings well over the FCC’s 39% ownership cap. In November, Nexstar filed applications with the FCC that include a request for a waiver of the ownership cap.
In announcing the pact, Nexstar and Tegna said the combined company “will be better able to serve communities by ensuring the long-term vitality of local news and programming from trusted local sources and preserving the diversity of local voice and opinion.”
But the attorneys general from the eight states suing to block the Nexstar-Tegna merger say it would harm consumers. The eights states — California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, North Carolina, Connecticut, and Virginia — jointly filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The suit alleges that the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits mergers that substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly.
“This merger would cause incredibly high levels of concentration in local TV markets and is expected to raise cable and satellite prices across the country, causing irreparable harm to local news and consumers who rely on their reporting as a critical source of information,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “If approved, this multibillion-dollar deal would combine the nation’s largest and third-largest television-station conglomerates, creating a behemoth covering 80% of U.S. television households.”
Bonta continued, “This merger is illegal, plain and simple, running contrary to federal antitrust laws that protect consumers. When broadcast media is owned by a handful of companies, we get fewer voices, less competition, and communities lose the critical check on power that local journalism delivers.”
A copy of the states’ lawsuit is available at this link. The suit seeks a court order declaring the merger illegal and a permanent injunction preventing the companies from completing the transaction.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department and the FCC both have the authority to block the merger. On Feb. 7, 2026, President Donald Trump said in a post on social media, “Get that deal done!,” saying that Nexstar and Tegna should be allowed to merge in order to “Knock out the Fake News” from the “Fake News National TV Networks.” Soon thereafter, FCC chairman Brendan Carr also responded on social media, writing, “Let’s get it done.” Carr has been public in his support for abolishing the FCC’s decades-old rule limiting TV station groups from owning outlets that reach more than 39% of U.S. households.
“The Trump administration has shown states and consumers that it is more concerned with protecting corporate interests than doing its job to defend the public and uphold consumer protection and antitrust laws that help make life affordable for American families,” the office of Bonta said in announcing the lawsuit.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a statement Thursday, said, “Competition among local TV stations allows consumers to enjoy a variety of affordable options for quality coverage of news, sports, and more. This illegal merger threatens local news and could raise fees for consumers by combining hundreds of TV stations under the same owner. I’m suing to stop Nexstar’s illegal merger with Tegna to keep cable bills down and ensure New Yorkers can access the independent local news options they count on.”
The eight state attorneys general argue that the Nexstar-Tegna merger would severely threaten consumers’ access to high-quality local news. Nexstar has “an established track record of consolidating newsrooms when it owns more than one station in each media market,” according to James. “These tactics eliminate independent news operations and diminish diversity in news coverage at a time when local news is already under threat. If the merger succeeds, communities would face fewer choices for local news in media markets across the country.”
Perry Sook, Nexstar’s chairman and CEO, has claimed that its merger with Tegna is “vitally important to the future of local television and local journalism.”
In a Nov. 18 statement, Sook said: “We are grateful that the Trump administration and the FCC recognize that the current television ownership regulations are outdated and do not reflect the competitive media landscape as it has evolved over the past 25-plus years. Like the Trump administration, we are focused on achieving deregulation, and we continue to advocate for the elimination of the antiquated constraints on local television ownership as the best solution to level the competitive playing field for all media.”
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