Sens. Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell Raise ‘Serious Concerns’ Over Nexstar-Tegna Merger in Letter to Brendan Carr

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote a joint letter to FCC chairman Brendan Carr on Monday, questioning the commission’s approval of the Nexstar-Tegna merger without a full vote.

The letter comes days after a federal judge halted the merger after DirecTV filed a lawsuit, accusing the $6.2 billion merger of violating federal antitrust laws in a lawsuit.

The senators wrote that the merger raised “serious concerns” about the FCC’s use of authority to approve the merger even though it involved waiving major anti-consolidation rules.

The approval of the Nexstar-Tegna deal was subject to raising or eliminating the 39% national TV ownership cap put in place by Congress in 2004 to protect viewpoint diversity, as well as to prevent monopolization. However, instead of modifying the ownership rules, Carr granted the companies a waiver and defended that the decision would empower broadcast TV stations and foster local journalism.

The transaction would result in the largest local broadcast television group in American history, reaching 80% of U.S. television households with 259 full-power television stations across 44 states.

“The size of the transaction and the scope of the waivers presented are precisely the type of novel and consequential issues that Commission precedent, as well as basic principles of administrative accountability to the American people, require to be decided by the full Commission,” the letter read.

The FCC’s Media Bureau signed off on the merger on March 19, but it did not get a vote of the full commission. Shortly after the FCC announced its approval and the subsequent lack of a challenge from the Justice Department, Nexstar said that they had closed the deal.

The senators now warn that the commission’s inconsistency raises questions about when a full commission vote would be required, considering this transaction was approved without one.

“If a transaction of this scale, involving statutory caps and waivers across dozens of markets, can be resolved at the bureau level, it is unclear what types of decisions still require Commission-level review,” their letter continued. “We are particularly concerned that this approach could be invoked in the future to justify bureau-level approval of major transactions — potentially accompanied by extensive conditions — without a full Commission vote.”

The merger is now at a standstill as DirecTV and state attorneys general fight the deal on antitrust grounds. U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento granted DirecTV’s request for the deal to be paused, with an April 7 hearing set to decide whether to keep the pause in place until a full trial.

Meanwhile, eight state AGs have filed lawsuits in an effort to block Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna. California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, North Carolina, Connecticut and Virginia make up the coalition.

Nexstar stocks fell 8% Monday after the federal judge paused the merger. Shares of Nexstar have fallen 14.7% in the past five days, 21.4% in the past month and 7% year to date.

The post Sens. Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell Raise ‘Serious Concerns’ Over Nexstar-Tegna Merger in Letter to Brendan Carr appeared first on TheWrap.