Eight state attorneys general are challenging Nexstar Media’s $6.2 billion takeover bid for local TV rival Tegna in court. They claim the merger is an illegal consolidation of stations that will raise pay-TV prices and “degrade” local news coverage in communities across the country.
Nexstar is the largest local television station group in the United States, with 201 owned or affiliated stations in 116 markets. The deal with Tegna, which has 64 stations in 51 markets, will bring the combined company’s station count to 265. Nexstar announced an agreement to acquire Tegna last August, which would take its stake in Tegna significantly above the FCC’s 39% ownership limit. In November, Nexstar filed an application with the FCC requesting an exemption from the ownership cap.
In announcing the agreement, Nexstar and Tegna said the combined company “will better serve our communities by ensuring the long-term vitality of local news and programming from trusted local sources and preserving the diversity of local voices and opinions.”
But the attorneys general in eight states suing to block the Nexstar-Tegna merger argue that the merger would harm consumers. Eight states – California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, North Carolina, Connecticut and Virginia – filed a joint lawsuit late Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The lawsuit alleges that the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits mergers that substantially reduce competition or tend to create a monopoly.
“This merger is expected to create incredible concentration in the local television market and increase cable and satellite rates across the country, causing irreparable harm to local news and the consumers who rely on it as an important 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 that would cover 80 percent of U.S. television households.”
Bonta continued, “This merger is illegal and violates federal antitrust laws that protect consumers, plain and simple. When broadcast media is owned by a handful of companies, our voices will be diminished, we will have less competition, and our communities will lose an important check on the power that local journalism provides.”
A copy of the state’s lawsuit is available at this link. The lawsuit seeks a court order that the merger is illegal and a permanent injunction preventing the companies from completing the transaction.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department and FCC both have the power to block mergers. On February 7, 2026, President Donald Trump said in a social media post, “Get the deal done!” and said the Nexstar and Tegna merger should be allowed to “remove fake news” from the “fake news national television network.” Soon after, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr also responded on social media, writing, “Let’s get it done.” Mr. Carr has made no secret of his support for repealing the FCC’s decades-old rule that restricts television groups from owning stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households.
“The Trump administration has demonstrated to states and consumers that it is more interested in protecting corporate profits than in carrying out its job of protecting the public, and that it will abide by the consumer protection and antitrust laws that help enrich the lives of American families,” Bonta’s office said in announcing the lawsuit.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Thursday that “competition among local television 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 hundreds of television stations. “Combining them under the same ownership could result in higher rates for consumers. I am suing to stop the illegal merger between Nexstar and Tegna to lower cable costs and ensure New Yorkers have access to the independent local news options they rely on.”
Attorneys general from eight states argue that the Nexstar-Tegna merger would seriously threaten consumers’ access to quality local news. James said Nexstar “has an established track record of consolidating newsrooms when it owns multiple stations in each media market.” “These tactics eliminate independent news operations and reduce reporting diversity at a time when local news is already under threat. If the merger is successful, communities will see fewer local news options in the national media market.”
Nexstar Chairman and CEO Perry Sooke said the merger with Tegna is “critical to the future of local television and local journalism.”
“We are grateful that the Trump Administration and the FCC recognize that current television ownership regulations are outdated and do not reflect the competitive media landscape that has evolved over the past 25-plus years. Like the Trump Administration, we are committed to achieving deregulation and continue to advocate for the removal of outdated restrictions on local television ownership as the best solution to level the playing field for all media,” Sook said in a Nov. 18 statement.
