Trump FCC’s Ignores Evidence and the Law, Approves Nexstar’s Tegna Takeover 

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice approved Nexstar Media’s bid to take over Tegna Inc. In the process, the FCC claimed the right to waive a congressionally-set cap that prohibits any single broadcast entity from reaching more than 39 percent of a national TV audience, as well as the FCC’s own rules on local broadcast ownership. If the merger goes through, Nexstar would reach 80 percent of U.S. households.

In late 2025, Nexstar filed an application seeking FCC approval to acquire Tegna’s broadcast licenses. The multibillion-dollar deal would combine the nation’s largest television-station conglomerate with its fourth largest. Nexstar controls more than 200 owned or partner television stations in 116 local U.S. markets. The combined entity would have 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, present in 132 of the country’s 210 television Designated Market Areas (or DMAs). The resulting conglomerate would have a national audience reach of twice the “National Cap” established by Congress. 

In December, a coalition of labor unions and media-justice groups — including Free Press — petitioned the FCC to deny the merger on the grounds that the agency is prohibited by law from waiving, altering, or eliminating this National Cap. In their application for approval Nexstar sought a waiver of this limit, even though the combination of these two broadcast giants would cause incredibly high levels of concentration in local TV markets, raise cable and satellite prices around the country, and cause irreparable harm to local news, journalists and consumers. 

In a statement about the FCC’s action, Chairman Brendan Carr claimed that the agency approval “ensures that these broadcasters have the resources to continue investing in their local news operations.” Free Press analysis of this and past broadcast mergers, however, has found the opposite to be true: Broadcast media consolidation such as this leads to layoffs in local newsrooms and less investment in the sort of local coverage that communities need.

The Department of Justice also signed off on the deal without conditions. But it’s not a done deal yet: Less than 24 hours earlier, eight state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit in California to block the merger.

Free Press General Counsel and Vice President of Policy Matt Wood said:

“Nexstar knew it had a willing accomplice in Brendan Carr, Donald Trump’s chief media attack dog and censor. The company worked behind the scenes to gain FCC approval without a hitch, and without even a vote from the full commission. This procedural cowardice — sneaking it through a bureau rather than facing the public in a full vote by the commissioners — makes the FCC’s decision even more fragile and suspicious, and it’s already built on swampy ground with Carr’s remarkably arrogant decision to ignore the national broadcast reach cap Congress wrote into law.

“As Free Press has warned repeatedly, this deal would create a massive broadcast conglomerate willing to put the political agenda of Donald Trump over the needs of the communities local television serves. Chairman Carr and his allies in Nexstar’s executive suites have put up a smokescreen of rhetoric designed to dupe people into believing that these national conglomerates are truly local stations, and that there are public-interest benefits of such a merger. 

“We know better: An unlawful deal of this magnitude results in laying off reporters as the new bosses seek to leverage economies of scale, and as they churn out the sort of cookie-cutter content that comes from the downsizing of local newsrooms. These cuts come from distant corporate headquarters of companies that are local broadcasters in name only. They lead to less original local news competition, worse coverage, and less viewpoint and ownership diversity.

“If this unlawful FCC waiver and merger grant are allowed to stand, we can expect many more deals like this one. If it goes through, this deal would create yet another tectonic shift in broadcast media, away from local control and independence toward total control by massive national conglomerates whose owners are more beholden to Trump’s political agenda than they are to the needs of their communities. We’re determined to keep fighting Carr’s unwise and unlawful decision at the agency, in courts of law, and in the halls of Congress, too. 

“Congress got it right when it sought to limit the influence one media conglomerate has over nationwide political discourse. Donald Trump’s efforts to consolidate major media in the hands of his political cronies is a perfect example of why such a prohibition exists. It’s foolish to believe that a more massive national chain holding so many local stations somehow competes against big tech or national news networks in any meaningful way. Bigger media conglomerates are bad for democracy writ large, and particularly harmful to the local communities these broadcasters are obligated to serve.

“While the FCC and the Department of Justice have abdicated their responsibilities to safeguard the public airwaves and enforce antitrust laws, this fight is not over. Eight state attorney generals have already filed an antitrust suit against this unlawful merger, as have corporations like DirecTV that will be squeezed by an even bigger and more consolidated Nexstar. We can expect other challenges to this terrible FCC decision in the days ahead.”

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