Nexstar is the U.S.’s biggest local TV station owner, with 201 owned or partner stations in 116 markets. The deal for Tegna, which has 64 stations in 51 markets, would bring the combined company to 265 stations — and increase Nexstar’s reach to 54.5% of U.S. TV homes, over the FCC’s 39% ownership limit.
Meanwhile, Sinclair, second-largest TV station group owner, disclosed Monday that it has acquired an 8.2% stake in the E.W. Scripps Co. and that Sinclair has been in talks for several months about buying Scripps.
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Nexstar and Tegna filed applications with the FCC seeking consent to the transfer of the broadcast licenses currently controlled by Tegna to Nexstar. According to Nexstar, “The applications address why, if certain of the FCC’s rules governing television ownership remain in effect, waiver of the rules would serve the public interest, especially in the local communities Nexstar’s stations will serve.” A redacted version of Nexstar’s filings are available at this link.
The FCC, under Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr, in June launched a proceeding seeking public comment on whether to “modify, retain or eliminate” the 39% national audience reach cap on local TV ownership.
In connection with the Nexstar’s FCC filing, Nexstar chairman and CEO Perry Sook (pictured above), said in a statement: “Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna is vitally important to the future of local television and local journalism. We are grateful that the Trump administration and the FCC recognize that the current television ownership regulations are outdated and do not reflect the competitive media landscape as it has evolved over the past 25-plus years. Like the Trump administration, we are focused on achieving deregulation, and we continue to advocate for the elimination of the antiquated constraints on local television ownership as the best solution to level the competitive playing field for all media.”
“While waiting for the FCC to complete its rule-making process [on the 39% ownership cap], we submitted waiver requests to bypass the major barriers that prevent us from competing fairly — including with legacy media and Big Tech — massive entities with vast resources that afford them enormous influence that extends into every pocket, purse and backpack of Americans everywhere,” Sook said in the statement.
The exec continued: “To be clear, in an age of disinformation and political agendas, we are the anti-fake news. Our news is delivered by trusted, familiar voices — journalists who live in the community — not a chat-bot or social media influencers. And yet, we are prohibited from broadcasting trusted local news and programming to hundreds of communities across the country because of antiquated regulatory constraints.”
Nexstar last month extended the employment agreement of Sook through March 31, 2029.
In addition to its local TV stations, Nexstar owns national television properties The CW, national news network NewsNation, and multicast networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV as well as a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network. The company’s digital assets include its local TV station websites and political news site The Hill.
In September, Nexstar made headlines over the company’s decision to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on its ABC affiliates (along with rival Sinclair), over comments Kimmel made about the MAGA movement’s attempts to score political points from Charlie Kirk’s assassination. With the Tegna deal pending, Nexstar’s decision was seen as an attempt to get in the good graces of FCC’s Carr, who had vigorously criticized Kimmel’s remarks and suggested local TV stations could lose their broadcast licenses if Kimmel were not taken off the air. Nexstar denied Carr’s remarks influenced its decision to pre-empt Kimmel’s show. Three days after ABC reinstated Kimmel, Nexstar agreed to start airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” again (as did Sinclair). Nexstar said Disney execs were taking a “constructive approach to addressing our concerns.” Sook, in a Sept. 26 memo to Nexstar staffers written with president/COO Mike Biard, also said Nexstar’s blackout of Kimmel wasn’t a First Amendment violation: “No one has an unlimited right to say whatever they want on a talk show.”
