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This is probably the worst deal to hit broadcast television since all of the RKO General corruption came to light or when NBC forced themselves on Philadelphia only to send KYW packing to Cleveland for a few years. I won't believe a thing until the bodies pile up from all of the stations Nexstar should have no control over. That's when the REAL lawsuits should start flying. And if Nexstar ILLEGALLY takes over these stations, they should be held liable and fined into oblivion. Much like when Media General took back WAGT for a few days against a legimate transfer of ownership that they refused to comply with. But the way things are headed, this is just a fraction of the problems in our country today. Laws be damned. -30-

I’m sorry, but this is wholly fucked. Nobody with a straight face can pretend this serves the viewer. What it does serve is debt structures, investor appetites, and the same consolidation treadmill that’s been shredding local news for decades. Every time one of these mega-deals goes through, newsrooms shrink, investigative coverage dies off, and more “local” stations start parroting the same pre-packaged garbage. Carr’s statement is pure, Grade A bullshit. The idea that this somehow helps local broadcasters “compete” with tech companies is laughable. Google and Facebook don’t produce journalism. They host distribution networks. Nexstar and Tegna are supposed to create the journalism those platforms amplify. But instead of reinvesting in actual reporting, they’ll gut staff and load up on syndicated filler while pretending it’s innovation. This isn’t modernization. It’s cannibalization, and we’re watching what’s left of local news get carved up for parts.

And it's been announced. 8 states are involved: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/states-lawsuit-block-nexstar-tegna-merger-1236693222/

American Telephone & Telegraph

I hope the courts do overturn this deal and Nexstar is forced to divest all of the Tegna stations. And since Tegna no longer technically exists, Nexstar should be forced to sell these stations as going concerns...or be forced to restore the stations to the way they were before they took over them.

Aside from WAVY and WTHR, these divestitures are a joke. Stations that are tied to the hips of their parent stations instead of the standalone ones that should have been sold off. KTVD is tied to KUSA. Both of these should have been divested to another party. WUPL is tied to WWL. I cringe to think how much more Nexstar can destroy WWL than what Tegna has already done. KNWA is tied to KFTA. WCTX is tied to WTIC. And this leaves out other major conflicts in places like Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Columbus, Cleveland, Little Rock, Memphis, Portland, St. Louis, Quad Cities, Grand Rapids, and others where Nexstar now owns 3 or more stations.

DirecTV has filed its own lawsuit to block the merger

Well, crap. There are a bunch of markets that will go from four separately-owned news-producing stations to three (such as Portland, OR, and here in CT), but there are also some that will go from three separately-owned to two (Sacramento, possibly Hampton Roads). Not good. And probably too late for Jimmy Kimmel to comment on it before the weekend, too. Currently, three of those (WTHR, WAVY, and KNWA) are NBC affiliates. How much do you want to bet those affiliations are going to get moved to subchannels of stations Nexstar's keeping? (If I ran NBC, I'd be informing them the affiliations are staying with those stations, thank you very much.)

Trump said that an outright lift of the ownership cap would allow the network O&O groups to buy more stations.

They didn't change it. They're ignoring it.

This was likely rushed by order of Trump through a friendly FCC and DOJ. If a court steps in, they will likely not "rebuild" Tegna, but rather be forced to sell them all to other companies.

I'm genuinely finding it surreal that the deal was both approved and closed at the same time, for a deal as large as this. Did I miss where the FCC actually changed the ownership cap rules? All I know is Commissioner Carr was floating the idea, but I don't recall the rule being amended or changed formally.

So a few divestitures I could see Paramount-Skydance, FOX, Hearst and a few other jumping into buy some spun off stations.

I seriously have problems comprehending that our FCC AND DOJ actually approved this deal. That is how screwed up our government is. There's so much more these bastards deserve than being voted out of office.

Courts could still block it.

what station ranks 5th in St Louis? Does KPLR outrate KDNL?

KUSA is reporting the deal is Done! Tegna Media is no more and is now a division of Nexstar, although there are court challenges by some AGs. The Tegna website as of 5:13PM MDT now redirects to Nexstar's website.

This looks like a deal that's headed for an ALJ and possibly death in courts.

Interesting.

Glad she did because I feel like something was missing from that story and I hope she wins her case as a result. She should come back on air quickly, if the case goes in her favor.

Sinclair is (re)introducing a morning newscast (they cancelled in 2023) on WACH in Columbia... https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/wach-launching-good-day-columbia-new-morning-newscast/ It probably costs a fraction of what the old one did. But still noteworthy for a station group that loves to gut their local news departments in favor of piped in propa....i mean "content"....

The last time ABC purchased a TV station was in 1995 and the Flint/Toledo deal closed before Disney's purchase of ABC was finalized. Disney has always been a reluctant broadcast TV owner in the 21st century. Kermit the Frog will replace Mickey Mouse as Disney's main character before ABC/Disney owns another U.S. broadcast license.

And as I've said before, Disney/ABC could have acquired WJLA if it had simply found a company interested in the other Albritton stations. It's not like the stations were all stuck together forever once Albritton sold them.

It is typical Sinclair cheapness. Not just that they are an ABC affiliate, but, a DC station with so much going on because of those in power in DC. Another example of how the two big trump positive station groups don't really support investment in real news.

Its about time WFLX replaced their horrible fake FOX font logo after 18 years. A much better improvement for WFLX, IMO. Plus, finally using the actual FOX logo for the first time since 2008.

It all has to do with ownership (direct or indirect). Nexstar is doing this at many statins. They promise investment in news but this shows that is window dressing as to what actually happens. CBS issues under Skydance Paramount are well documented. Not to say WNBC and WABC are immune from budget cuts, but it's rare to see it have such a big impact as we see at WPIX and other Nexstar stations.

At least from my viewing habits, male traffic anchors in general are indeed rare. I hope they leave him and Kaity Tong alone. What a shame. John Muller left and returned home only to be laid off. As someone else said, I would love to see him or Craig land at FOX 5. I was so/so about Kori but you never want to see someone lose their job this way. From my vantage point WABC and WNBC appear to be the most stable products in the market right now.

Somehow Mr.G has survived any and all rounds of cuts and changes.

I like John, so hoping he lands on his feet…Good Day New York would be nice! What a shame though for everyone involved…hopefully nobody else loses their job! Please wrap Kaity in bubble wrap, as she is the best over there still after all these years!

So much for Nexstar's claim that they invest in journalism. Yet over and over they reduce staff, close newsrooms, etc.

WOOD-TV's Susan Shaw is retiring after nearly 4 decades in the business... 31 of those years in Grand Rapids... Her final day is March 27,

Every one is a news anchor now I see I’m in college I’m having second thoughts about entering this really unattractive business. Maybe I could start my own platform that’s the future anyways. I’ve also thought about meteorology FOX5 literally has a weather presenter with no meteorological training doing there weather and is 29 years old, I think you know who I’m talking about and I’m mixed about her. I prefer to get a degree, not get a job because of looks. And this is market #1 we’re talking about god I hate New York, I could go on a full on rant about the nations 2 largest cities both of them… I’ll just keep it too myself.

edit: nevermind, story/link was already posted. anyway RIP local TV news

And on this same day Nexstar says this acquisition is complete, as they got FCC and DOJ approval: https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-media-group-inc-closes-acquisition-of-tegna-inc/

For those not aware, WGN dismissed 9 anchors/reporters yesterday, and KTLA knocked out at least 3 on-air talent, as well. Now, after confirmation from a Nexstar source, WPIX has made some high profile cuts of their own. Gone as of today are: Kori Chambers, lead/late co-anchor Arrianee Lebeau, early evening co-anchor John Muller, weekend morning & original weekday morning co-anchor There could be more, but those are the only names we have, at this time.