Nexstar Media’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, owner of a rival television station group, has been put on hold after a federal judge ruled that the proposed merger was “presumably likely to violate antitrust laws based on the companies’ combined market shares alone.”
The deal will expand Tegna’s footprint for Nexstar, already the largest television station group in the United States, resulting in a company with 259 full-power stations affiliated with networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. The deal will allow the combined company to reach 80% of U.S. TV households. Nexstar announced on March 19 that the transaction with Tegna was completed following approval by the FCC and Department of Justice.
But the deal is currently on hold amid legal challenges that claim Nexstar Tegna violates antitrust laws. On Friday, March 27, Judge Troy Nunley of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking the merger of Nexstar and Tegna in response to a lawsuit filed by DirecTV. Nunley scheduled a hearing on the case for April 7 to determine whether the deal violated antitrust laws and warranted a preliminary injunction to halt it.
In his ruling, Nunley said Nexstar and Tegna “do not dispute that this merger will increase Nexstar’s bargaining power and enable it to command higher rates.” Under the judge’s order, Tegna and Nexstar must operate separately for the time being and must not share “competitively sensitive” information, including information related to retransmission fee negotiations, among other restrictions.
DirecTV filed suit against Nexstar and Tegna on March 18, claiming the proposed merger would result in an “unprecedented” concentration of broadcast television that would “irreparably raise consumer costs, reduce local competition, close local newsrooms, and increase the frequency and duration of blackouts of major local teams and network programming,” according to the company.
Separately, also on March 18, eight state attorneys general, including California and New York, filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Nexstar/Tegna merger on the same grounds.
In response to a request for comment, a Nexstar representative said the company “does not comment on pending litigation.” “The verdict speaks for itself,” a DirecTV representative said. Tegna did not respond to a request for comment.
Nexstar announced an agreement to acquire Tegna in August 2025. In approving the deal, the FCC granted both companies an exemption from ownership caps that prohibit a single local station owner from serving more than 39% of U.S. households. In addition to selling six stations across six different markets, Nexstar is committed to “pursuing affordability and locality,” according to the FCC.
The companies say their holdings overlap in 35 designated market areas (DMAs), and the combined company will operate 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, as well as television stations in 132 of the country’s 210 television DMAs. Nexstar has committed to selling the following six television stations within two years at the latest after the Tegna deal closes: KTVD, Denver, Colorado. WTHR, Indianapolis, Indiana. WCTX, New Haven, CT; WAVY, Portsmouth, VA. WUPL, Slidell, Louisiana. KNWA, Rogers, Arkansas.
According to the FCC order approving the deal, Nexstar also committed to “expanding its investments in local news and programming, including increasing the amount of local news it offers in acquired markets.” Regarding “pricing and affordability concerns,” Nexstar has committed to offering pay-TV providers with existing retransmission agreements an extension at their existing rates until November 30, 2026. Additionally, Nexstar is committed to “equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination.”
