States sue over proposed Nexstar media merger
Source: Courthouse News Service
March 19, 2026
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Several states have filed suit against two media giants in an attempt to stop a proposed merger they claim would raise prices and hurt consumers.
The attorneys general of the eight states argue in their suit that Nexstar Media Group’s planned acquisition of Tegna Inc. would create the biggest broadcast station organization in the nation covering 80% of U.S. television households. That would place more programming in fewer hands, pulling control from the communities they report on while slashing local jobs and damaging media content.
The attorneys general in the suit, filed in the U.S. District for the Eastern District of California, ask a judge to stop the planned merger. “This merger is illegal, plain and simple, running contrary to federal antitrust laws that protect consumers," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a Wednesday statement. “When broadcast media is owned by a handful of companies, we get fewer voices, less competition, and communities lose the critical check on power that local journalism delivers.”
The states involved in the suit say that the planned merger violates the Clayton Act, which forbids consolidations that lessen competition or create monopolies.They add that the Federal Communications Commission has the responsibility to stop the proposed deal. The $6.2 billion merger would violate an FCC rule, the plaintiffs say.The attorneys general argue the deal would create massive increases in the concentration of several geographic markets — a move that exceeds a legal line for presumptive illegality.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/states-sue-over-proposed-nexstar-media-merger/
Link to CA AG Bonta PRESS RELEASE - Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Seeking to Block $6.2 Billion Nexstar/Tegna Broadcasting Merger
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/2026.03.18%20Complaint%20for%20Permanent%20Injunction%20Redacted.pdf
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