North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is one of eight Democratic attorneys general suing to block a major television merger between Nexstar and Tegna that would eliminate competition. (Photo: NC Newsline)
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is one of eight Democratic attorneys general suing to block a major television merger between Nexstar and Tegna that would eliminate competition in Charlotte, the Triad, and northeast North Carolina, impacting more than two million households.
Filing the lawsuit Wednesday alongside attorneys general for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Virginia, Jackson argued Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna would lead to higher cable and satellite bills and fewer local news options for North Carolinians.
“Nexstar wants to buy one of its biggest competitors, gain more control over local news stations and Sunday afternoon NFL broadcasts, and charge millions of North Carolina families more for television,” Jackson said in a statement Thursday. “That’s exactly why antitrust laws exist, and I’m going to court to stop it.”
Nexstar and Tegna did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Following the acquisition, Nexstar would control 265 television stations, including 221 FOX, NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates — a larger share of broadcast television than any company has controlled before, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice.
That would allow them to reach 80% of American households, more than double the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast ownership cap of 39% set by Congress. Nexstar has requested a waiver from the FCC to allow the $6.2 billion deal to go through, though it is unclear whether the agency has authority to grant one.
The complaint, filed in the Eastern District of California, seeks a permanent injunction blocking the companies’ merger. It argues the consolidation would allow Nexstar to charge higher retransmission fees in these markets, leading to higher bills for television customers.
The complaint notes that Nexstar’s chief financial officer told shareholders that it expects to collect roughly $135 million in additional retransmission fees charged to cable and satellite companies. And it warns that the company would gain leverage in these negotiations because of its ability to black out half the broadcasters in some television markets. Nexstar already charges the highest retransmission fees on average of any broadcasting company.
The states’ lawsuit was followed on Thursday by a separate lawsuit by television company DirecTV, arguing that the acquisition would “irreparably drive up consumer costs” while reducing network competition, which the company said violates federal antitrust laws.
According to both complaints, another likely outcome would be the elimination of independent newsrooms, with Nexstar often airing identical broadcasts across multiple stations it owns in the same region.
In North Carolina, that would mean WCNC in Charlotte and WFMY in Greensboro would cease to operate as independent stations, instead rebroadcasting the same news coverage as their Nexstar counterparts, WJZY and WGHP, according to Jackson’s office.
Jackson wrote in a post on X Thursday that the move would “gut local news,” leading to “fewer reporters, fewer stories, [and] less scrutiny on state and local leaders.” The NCDOJ said this is “something these communities cannot afford,” particularly amid the disappearance of local newspapers.
“The USDOJ has historically been the one to challenge mergers like this, and it did, twice, when Nexstar tried similar mergers in 2016 and 2020,” he wrote. “The federal antitrust enforcers who are supposed to be policing these deals have stepped back, and that’s left a void. State attorneys general are filling it.”
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