Nexstar-Tegna Merger Put on Ice by Federal Judge, Bolstering Antitrust Concerns
A judge issued a preliminary injunction against the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger on Friday in a major victory for DirecTV and a group of eight state attorneys general.
U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley provided his decision in a 52 page ruling Friday evening, in which he concluded that the merger between Nexstar and Tegna would hinder competition by violating antitrust laws.
However, Nunley noted that the injunction wouldn’t take effect until next week, writing, “At Defendants’ request, this preliminary injunction shall take effect starting April 21, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PDT. In the meantime, to preserve the status quo and good cause appearing, the Court extends its Temporary Restraining Order (ECF No. 60) as modified (ECF No. 145) through April 21, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. PDT.”
In response to the decision, Rob Bonta, attorney general of California, issued a celebratory statement on X, in which he blasted the merger as “illegal.”
“We’ve secured a court order halting the merger of Nexstar/Tegna while our case continues — a critical win,” Bonta wrote. “This merger is illegal, plain and simple. The federal govt may have thrown in the towel, but we’ll keep fighting for consumers, for workers, for affordability, and for our local news.”
Anna M. Gomez, the FCC’s sole Democrat Commissioner appointed by former President Joe Biden, echoed a similar sentiment in her own statement: “This is an important step toward ensuring that decisions of this magnitude are made with consumers in mind, not billion-dollar companies cutting backroom deals out of public view.”
“I welcome the court’s decision to pause this transaction and bring much-needed scrutiny to a deeply flawed approval process,” she continued. “What we saw here was a coordinated, multi-agency effort to avoid accountability and judicial review, culminating in a same-day clearance, approval and closing designated to shield the public from the real harms of this unprecedented merger.”
A Nexstar spokesperson said the company would appeal the decision and looks forward to presenting their case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“This transaction closed more than four weeks ago following receipt of all required regulatory approvals from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nexstar Media Group now owns TEGNA and has taken steps consistent with the Court order that has been in effect,” the company’s statement reads. “For nearly thirty years, Nexstar has provided free over-the-air access to all its broadcast stations — local news, weather, and community-focused programming alongside major network programming. This pro- competitive transaction will make local stations stronger and support continued investment in local journalism and fact-based news.”
Despite receiving federal approval by the DOJ and FCC and closing minutes later last month, Nunley issued a temporary restraining order putting the Nexstar-Tegna deal on pause after DirecTV sued to block the deal on antitrust grounds and established “a likelihood of success on the merits” of its claims. A group of eight state attorneys general led by California and New York also filed a separate complaint.
Together, the complaints alleged that the merger would “irreparably drive up consumer costs, reduce local competition, shutter local newsrooms and increase both frequency and duration of blackouts of key local teams and network programming.”
Though Nunley previously consolidated DirecTV and the state AGs’ complaints into one legal action, the latter requested to maintain a separate complaint because they have different interests than the pay TV operator. They will now have until April 30 to file any separate amended complaints.
Under the original terms of the deal, Nexstar would have had 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing a reach of 80% of U.S. television households, adding Big-4 affiliate stations in Phoenix, Atlanta, Toledo and Portland. The combined company would have also had stations in nine of the top 10 markets, and in 41 of the top 50.
In order to close the deal, Nexstar agreed to divest six stations across six different DMAs and made commitments to affordability and localism.
Its approval was also 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 prevent monopolization. However, instead of modifying the ownership rules, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr granted the companies a waiver and defended that the decision would empower broadcast TV stations and foster local journalism.
Shares of Nexstar closed at $200.78 per share on Friday. The stock is up 36% in the past year and 5.6% in the past six months, but is down 15.6% in the past month and 3.9% year to date.
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