Nexstar Media Group said it “has closed its acquisition” of Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal that would following approval of the transaction from the FCC and the Department of Justice.
The deal would augment Nexstar, already the biggest TV station group in the U.S., with Tegna’s footprint — resulting in a company with nearly 260 full-power stations, variously affiliated with networks including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. While the deal will give the combined company reach across 80% of U.S. TV households, it will own less than 15% of all the local TV stations in the country.
Nexstar’s announcement comes after eight state attorneys general and DirecTV filed federal lawsuits seeking to block the Tegna takeover, which both said the merger would increase prices for consumers and harm the production of local news.
In approving the deal, the FCC granted the companies a waiver of its ownership-cap rule that prohibits any local station owner from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. Nexstar has committed to divesting six stations across six different markets as well as “commitments that go to affordability and localism,” per the FCC.
In a statement, Perry Sook, Nexstar’s founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement, gave a shout-out to President Donald Trump and FCC chairman Brendan Carr for “enabling this transaction to move forward.”
“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve,” Perry Sook, Nexstar’s founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “By bringing these two outstanding companies together, Nexstar will be a stronger, more dynamic enterprise — better positioned to deliver exceptional journalism and local programming with enhanced assets, capabilities, and talent. We are grateful to President Trump, Chairman Carr, and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and enabling this transaction to move forward.”
Carr said in a statement that with the deal’s approval, “the FCC acts mindful of the media marketplace that exits today — not the one from decades past — and the agency ensures that these broadcasters have the resources to continue investing in their local news operations.”
“The FCC has been focused on empowering broadcast TV stations to serve their local communities, consistent with their public interest obligations,” Carr said. “Today’s agency decision does exactly that as both the record and Nexstar’s enforceable commitments demonstrate.”
On Dec. 1, 2025, the FCC accepted for filing applications seeking approval to transfer control of certain TV stations from Tegna to Nexstar. At the time, Tegna operated 64 full power broadcast television stations, one AM radio station and one FM radio station. Nexstar operated 201 stations in 116 television markets.
According to the companies, their holdings overlapped in 35 designated market areas (DMAs), and the combined company would operate 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia and in 132 of the country’s 210 television DMAs. The applicants sought both a waiver of the FCC’s 39% TV station group ownership cap and waivers of the Local Television Ownership rule in 23 DMAs to allow it to own more than two stations in the DMA; in addition, the consolidated company would own two stations in each of 17 DMAs.
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