More State Attorneys General, Including Some Republicans, Join Antitrust Lawsuit Against Nexstar-Tegna Merger; Ohio Reaches Settlement

Five new state attorneys general – some of them Republican – have joined an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the $6.2 billion merger of local TV station owners Nexstar and Tegna.

The transaction, which technically closed March 19 after the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice approved it, is a game-changer because it would create a giant entity whose stations would reach 80% of U.S. households. Federal law to this point has limited station reach by a single owner to 39% of households. DirecTV and eight state AGs sued to block the deal, and a federal judge backed the complaint, freezing the deal via a “stand-still provision” limiting integration efforts by the companies.

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