Nexstar to acquire Tegna

[JRyan 694]

2 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

A temporary reprieve...sort of....
https://thedesk.net/2026/03/nexstar-operating-tegna-as-subsidiary/

Nexstar better not change a damn thing to these stations, or they'll likely have to reverse it should the lawsuits prevail...

 

It's possible that they are doing this as a legal contingency plan if the merger is ultimately ruled unlawful in its present form.

 

But we should not forget that Tribune Media Company still technically exists in name only within Nexstar for holding some station licenses.  For example, WJZY is technically "licensed" to Tribune despite never being owned by them for a single day.  So this move may not entirely reflect Nexstar's lack of confidence in the deal's survival.  That being said, one can hope that this is still a good sign that Tegna still exists in some form for now.

[l_miro 245]

Docket says Nexstar notified the court on 3/20 they'll file opposition. Judge gave them 3/24 to respond, and California et.al. 3/26 to respond, if they want to

 

Alexander Okuliar will be lead attorney for Nexstar. Big antitrust lawyer, former DOJ antitrust lawyer and deputy AG, brought in US vs Google for the feds, worked with Microsoft on GitHub aquisition.

 

Case went to Chief District Judge Troy L. Nunley - Obama appointee; generally "rigid" (could go both ways); reads more like he would be concurring with a Scalia/Thomas textual reading than go looking for "elephants hidden in statutes"; "very demanding about evidence of harm" - probably not good for California et. al., they will have to convince him of imminent and irreversible harm to the Sacramento market.

 

so March 27 through next week, for arguments and ruling on the TRO.

 

- TRO denied = Nexstar is free to absorb Tegna; a later trial (if it gets that far) will decide either way; possible 9th circuit appeal who "tend to be flexible in antitrust issues" - might grant a stay while reviewing the denial

- TRO denied but hold separate order = judge thinks there's some merit in the argument California et. al. made; not going to shake Nexstar up

- TRO granted - merger is frozen; injunction hearing etc

 

2 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

A temporary reprieve...sort of....
https://thedesk.net/2026/03/nexstar-operating-tegna-as-subsidiary/

Nexstar better not change a damn thing to these stations, or they'll likely have to reverse it should the lawsuits prevail...

 

looks like a pivot by Okuliar, Nexstar's counsel. The judge in the case allegedly has preference for maintaining status quo, and the "midnight closing" uncle Perry did could have left the judge thinking Nexstar were trying to tie his hands up, so they're leaking to the press and massaging the gears 

 

[Megatron81 343]

Nexstar should sell some more TV station from the TEGNA merger I'm fine with them buying WZZM and for a sole ABC station in West Michigan which should've happen 35 years ago just look it up on the wiki pages for more of that history, as I wrote about it in the earlier in the thread. Should sell Charlotte, Cleveland, C-Bus etc.

 

As for local TV ownership that ship has sailed seem like even in the early days of TV that those that got the TV stations up and running decided to cash out to the highest bidder. Not going to ever see local TV being owned by a local owner other than the few that are still in it maybe even they will cash out at some point. 

[ColtFromGulfcoast 869]

55 minutes ago, l_miro said:

TRO granted - merger is frozen; injunction hearing etc

Wouldn't this mean that they would have to transfer the Tegna stations to a trust?

[GoldenShine_10 263]

Just now, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

Wouldn't this mean that they would have to transfer the Tegna stations to a trust?

 

Yes, that is correct. Looking through the court cases, I see four (not three) scenarios.

1) Everything is a-ok. The cap is advisory and there is no antitrust issue, so Tegna can be absorbed into Nexstar without any legal repercussions. This would be a big win for Nexstar.

2) The cap is advisory and Nexstar is not violating that, but there ARE antitrust issues in certain markets (overlap markets mainly) that warrant a sale to an independent third party. In this case, the states' case is accepted but the interest groups' case is denied.

 

3) The cap is the law and Nexstar must sell Tegna stations in newly acquired markets. However, there are no antitrust issues, so they can keep the overlaps within existing markets. This is the opposite scenario to Scenario 2.

 

4) Both antitrust and cap violations are found (basically a combination of both Scenarios 2 and 3), which basically requires a near-unwinding of the deal. This is the nuclear option if they don't get their way and both sets of plaintiffs win.

[ColtFromGulfcoast 869]

6 minutes ago, GoldenShine_10 said:

2) The cap is advisory and Nexstar is not violating that, but there ARE antitrust issues in certain markets (overlap markets mainly) that warrant a sale to an independent third party. In this case, the states' case is accepted but the interest groups' case is denied.

Along these lines, could divestitures be ordered in all states where there are conflicts or just the ones who joined together for the suit?

7 minutes ago, GoldenShine_10 said:

3) The cap is the law and Nexstar must sell Tegna stations in newly acquired markets. However, there are no antitrust issues, so they can keep the overlaps within existing markets. This is the opposite scenario to Scenario 2.

In other words, does this mean that they can keep WBNS and KVUE (for example) but have to sell KENS, WXIA, WJXX, etc?

Also, is there any possibility that Nexstar would have to transfer any stations it had before Tegna to a trust as well?

[GoldenShine_10 263]

8 minutes ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

Along these lines, could divestitures be ordered in all states where there are conflicts or just the ones who joined together for the suit?

In other words, does this mean that they can keep WBNS and KVUE (for example) but have to sell KENS, WXIA, WJXX, etc?

Also, is there any possibility that Nexstar would have to transfer any stations it had before Tegna to a trust as well?

 

In 2 (and 4), it depends on the ruling. It could be either.

In 3 (and 4), correct, since the antitrust ruling would not apply they can keep everything in their bloated markets.

 

As far as legacy stations, probably not. However, if a buyer wants a legacy Nexstar station instead of the acquired Tegna station in a market, then the courts might entertain that as long as it gets back into compliance if Scenario 1 is not the end result.

[mre29 1967]

1 hour ago, norcalTVfan said:

Morgan Murphy’s largest market is Spokane at 66, Madison is at 77. 

 

See, this is what I get for guessing. 

(To be fair, it's hard to find a current list of DMA rankings since Nielsen is so litigious about their info, even though such a list should be publicly-available knowledge.)

 

[l_miro 245]

Nexstar has responded to the TRO but the filling is under seal. We may or may not find out what they argued, or if we do, it will be heavily redacted. 

 

California et. al. filed copies of Nexstar SEC disclosures where the company told investors almost all of the $300 mil. in synergies will be due to higher retrans fees Tegna stations will be collecting - it is customary for a retrans contract to have a clause that automatically increases the retrans fee to bring it up to par with what the new owner receives.  

 

Nexstar counsel argued over email with the deputy AG, that they're bringing the case up at midnight, asking for a 3pm meeting, and mentions other plaintiffs - the other states - having had access to evidence she participated in regulatory review for a year, none of them raised issues with Nexstar privately. He's asking her why they waited so long. 
In the memorandum Plaintiff States assert they contacted Nexstar on 3/10 to work on timing and were ignored

 

He mentions  the TRO was filed by California claiming immediate harm but the FCC has an order preventing retrans fees from increasing until November. And that the relief California wants would be harmful to the company. 

 

 TRO will probably fail as local rules require immediate harm, plaintiffs were aware of evidence for months thus no emergency

 

Now California et al have till 3/26 to respond

 

Edited March 25 by l_miro

[GodfreyGR 812]

On 3/23/2026 at 4:38 PM, mre29 said:

(To be fair, it's hard to find a current list of DMA rankings since Nielsen is so litigious about their info, even though such a list should be publicly-available knowledge.)

It's not that hard.

 

https://nationalmediaspots.com/DMA-Ranks.pdf

[TheRolyPoly 3510]

6 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

It's not that hard.

 

https://nationalmediaspots.com/DMA-Ranks.pdf

 

It is. That's last season's rankings. I can't find anywhere this season's rankings.

[Breaking News 888]

1 hour ago, TheRolyPoly said:

 

It is. That's last season's rankings. I can't find anywhere this season's rankings.

This was from last year with only the top 50 markets. 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/09/29/us-media-market-rankings-bay-area-passes-boston-strong-growth-for-austin-west-palm-beach-okc/

[24994J 5888]

Nexstar held its company-wide merger town hall today, streaming to employees of both old Nexstar and the now-former Tegna. The event was filmed on the WFAA set in DFW. Despite all-powerful Perry's best "efforts" to keep the meeting quiet, some topics are leaking out, including to a close source of mine.

• The merged company now employs about 18,000 people, of which half are journalists. He very bluntly said that jobs will be lost, and in very quick order, before...
• They will merge & consolidate multi-station markets' building operations within the next year or so. Everything under one roof.
• Joint leadership teams will be announced in the next several weeks.
• Email accounts and other digital communications are merging ASAP.
• Digital production/output is a high priority.
• Several minutes were spent praising and bragging about News Nation.
• Six stations (previously mentioned) will be sold over the next 2-3 years.

Edited March 26 by 24994J

[ColtFromGulfcoast 869]

30 minutes ago, 24994J said:

Nexstar held its company-wide merger town hall today, streaming to employees of both old Nexstar and the now-former Tegna. The event was filmed on the WFAA set in DFW. Despite all-powerful Perry's best "efforts" to keep the meeting quiet, some topics are leaking out, including to a close source of mine.

• The merged company now employs about 18,000 people, of which half are journalists. He very bluntly said that jobs will be lost, and in very quick order, before...
• They will merge & consolidate multi-station markets' building operations within the next year or so. Everything under one roof.
• Joint leadership teams will be announced in the next several weeks.
• Email accounts and other digital communications are merging ASAP.
• Digital production/output is a high priority.
• Several minutes were spent praising and bragging about News Nation.
• Six stations (previously mentioned) will be sold over the next 2-3 years.

But...but....but....they said they wouldn't do this. They said they wanted to preserve voices.  

[ABC 7 Denver 1889]

32 minutes ago, 24994J said:

Nexstar held its company-wide merger town hall today, streaming to employees of both old Nexstar and the now-former Tegna. The event was filmed on the WFAA set in DFW. Despite all-powerful Perry's best "efforts" to keep the meeting quiet, some topics are leaking out, including to a close source of mine.

• The merged company now employs about 18,000 people, of which half are journalists. He very bluntly said that jobs will be lost, and in very quick order, before...
• They will merge & consolidate multi-station markets' building operations within the next year or so. Everything under one roof.
• Joint leadership teams will be announced in the next several weeks.
• Email accounts and other digital communications are merging ASAP.
• Digital production/output is a high priority.
• Several minutes were spent praising and bragging about News Nation.
• Six stations (previously mentioned) will be sold over the next 2-3 years.

 

They are moving quickly so that the merger can't be unwound. It's disgusting.

[MediaZone4K 2664]

Markets with duplicate stations will be consolidated. I predict that means simulcast news under one branding rather than a WBBH/WZVN duplicate operation one roof set up?

 

So digital output is finally a must? Does that mean ex Tega staions will no longer live stream news or will Nexstar join the present and allow their news stations to be live streamed?

Edited March 27 by MediaZone4K

[tyrannical bastard 4678]

I can't wait until they decide to pre-empt someone's show or raise the rates on a pay TV provider...
This should be a warning to all of us when it happens to raise hell why this merger should have never happened in the first place.

Maybe it will cost them a network or two.  Then they get a better spot to put the CW on.

[GoldenShine_10 263]

29 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

I can't wait until they decide to pre-empt someone's show or raise the rates on a pay TV provider...
This should be a warning to all of us when it happens to raise hell why this merger should have never happened in the first place.

Maybe it will cost them a network or two.  Then they get a better spot to put the CW on.

 

Say hello to a lot of .2's and .3's having networks as they move to more stable operations.

[l_miro 245]

9 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

Markets with duplicate stations will be consolidated. I predict that means simulcast news under one branding rather than a WBBH/WZVN duplicate operation one roof set up.

 

So digital output is finally a must? Doesthat mean ex Tega staions will no longer love stream news or Nexstar join the present and allow their news stations to be live streamed?

 

doubtful. Maybe digital output in terms of station website and/or "social media engagement".

 

Uncle Perry wants maxed out retrans $ and likely had to agree to limit live streams to get it. To be fair Comcast/Charter etc have complained for a long time about paying for the stations while live newscasts are available free. Cord cutters have used it as a loophole (if they don't want to mess with antennas)

 

13 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

I can't wait until they decide to pre-empt someone's show or raise the rates on a pay TV provider...
This should be a warning to all of us when it happens to raise hell why this merger should have never happened in the first place.

Maybe it will cost them a network or two.  Then they get a better spot to put the CW on.

 

decide to? Retrans for Tegna is going up in November by default, it's built into the contracts but they intentionally offer to delay it to try and nuke any 'immediate harm' claims in lawsuits.

+~$1.43/mth per sub. Around 55% of that is going to the affiliate network, the networks love it

 

1 hour ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

But...but....but....they said they wouldn't do this. They said they wanted to preserve voices.  

 

Uncle Perry's lawyer screaming into his pillow after submitting a counterbrief yesterday saying California AG suggesting job losses was "speculative future effect" 

[mre29 1967]

Guess that TRO didn't work out.

 

[JRyan 694]

It's very ironic that Nexstar would want to keep its corporate town hall closed-circuited as they touted this deal as being in the public interest.

[ABC 7 Denver 1889]

8 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Markets with duplicate stations will be consolidated. I predict that means simulcast news under one branding rather than a WBBH/WZVN duplicate operation one roof set up?

 

So digital output is finally a must? Does that mean ex Tega staions will no longer love stream news or Nexstar join the present and allow their news stations to be live streamed?

 

No. Nexstar isn't in the business of the public interest. Streaming doesn't pad the bottom line. While Nexstar could sell ads specifically for streaming, I suppose they calculated that it was more profitable to pump up the retransmission contracts. They don't care about "localism" at all. It's all bullshit.

 

7 hours ago, mre29 said:

Guess that TRO didn't work out.

 

No indication yet.

6 hours ago, JRyan said:

It's very ironic that Nexstar would want to keep its corporate town hall closed-circuited as they touted this deal as being in the public interest.

 

It's called lying. All corporations are good at it.

[tyrannical bastard 4678]

It's clear that Nexstar is moving forward to make their mark as quickly as possible.

 

The best thing that can be done is for as many people to cancel their pay TV services.  Starve Nexstar where it hurts.

Time to break this system that Nexstar perpetuated turning a free product into a bigger revenue stream than advertising.

 

And to be honest, as the networks demand more and more for even less product (the rise of live sports is getting WAY out of hand),  They can take a hit too.

 

Yes, it will hurt the other owners and operations, but maybe this will force them into a more sustainable business model.
 

Edited March 27 by tyrannical bastard

[Georgie56 3661]

Scott is reporting that Nexstar may be looking to rebrand their stations around the NewsNation branding.

[TVLurker 389]

I can't believe Nexstar surpassed Sinclair for worst ever company.