FCC Asks for Public Input on $6.2 Billion Nexstar-Tegna [News Media] Merger

The FCC is seeking the public’s input on Nexstar Media Group and Tegna’s pending $6.2 billion merger.

On Monday, the agency began accepting the two companies’ applications to transfer the licenses of Tegna’s 64 full-power television stations, one AM radio station, one FM radio station and other related FCC licenses to Nexstar.

Per a public notice released by the agency, Nexstar has said that it would serve 54.5% of the national audience post-transaction and is seeking a waiver of the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule, which prohibits a single entity from owning television stations that, in the aggregate, reach more than 39% of total U.S. television households. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has vacated a portion of the rule that prohibits common ownership of two of the top four ranked stations in the same market, subject to certain exceptions.

The FCC has set a deadline of Dec. 31 for all petitions to deny the merger, while oppositions to those petitions are due Jan. 15, 2026. Replies to the oppositions are then due Jan. 26, 2026.

The Nexstar-Tegna deal would create a local TV giant that would own a total of 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching approximately 80% of U.S. households.

The deal is subject to the modification or elimination of the 39% ownership cap. The rule was first implemented in 1941 and was raised by Congress in 2004 to ensure viewpoint diversity and prevent monopolization.

“The FCC is seeking the public’s input on Nexstar Media Group and Tegna’s pending $6.2 billion merger.”

This always cracks me up. The (insert entity) is seeking the public’s input.... blah.... blah.... blah....

What complete and total BS as the deal is pretty much a done deal regardless of public input. Furthermore, you’ve now painted a target on your back for future shenanigan’s.

The Nexstar-Tegna deal would create a local TV giant that would own a total of 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching approximately 80% of U.S. households.

So one leftist viewpoint will indoctrinate 80% of U.S. households - no, been there done that.

Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on communications and technology, said that the FCC’s merger approval “is not a serious effort to support local news or address the challenges posed by Big Tech. This is about handing power to a few massive corporations at the expense of local voices—the very voices that hold power accountable.”

She also cited Nexstar’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel off the air last year, after FCC chairman Brendan Carr warned stations following a comment the late-night host made about the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Rep. Matsui said that “now the same companies that folded under that pressure are being rewarded with a multi-billion-dollar merger. That’s not coincidence. That’s government pressure—and it’s unacceptable. If an agency can ignore clear statutory limits because it ‘wants to,’ then no law is safe.”

Nexstar’s CEO Perry Sook thanked Trump, along with Chairman Carr and the DOJ, for the merger’s approval. The company had lobbied aggressively to secure approval for the transaction, while urging the agency to relax its ownership rules permanently.

https://deadline.com/2026/03/fcc-approves-nexstar-tegna-merger-1236760998/

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