Welcome to the new chapter in local television stations as Nexstar Media Group kicks off its bid to buy TEGNA Inc.
Anyone hear the 1990s calling when another Texas-based broadcasting company started buying up its rivals? Replace Irving-based TV owner Nexstar with San Antonio-headquartered radio owner Clear Channel Communications, and the saying "history never repeats itself, but it rhymes" makes a great station ID.
If the deal first reported by the Wall Street Journal weeks ago actually goes through, the biggest TV ownership creation in history will need the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to lift the 39% cap on how many stations one company can own of all US TV households.
TV station owners have been eager to get that cap upped in recent years due to lower ratings and rising competition from digital streamers and YouTube.
And if this deal doesn't happen, Sinclair already expressed interest in TEGNA a day before the Nexstar announcement.
Now with that out of the way, since I write a Texas media blog, let's focus on the Lone Star State.
Nexstar already has quite the portfolio of Texas markets in its home state, and with the TEGNA deal, it will now add the following DMAs and stations to its holdings:
KENS 5 San Antonio
KIII 3 News Corpus Christi
12NewsNow KBMT-KJAC Beaumont
KXVA Abilene
Here are the current Nexstar markets in stations with the new potential TEGNA station in bold.
Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX
CW 33 KDAF
WFAA 8
KFAA 29
Houston, TX
CW 39 KIAH
KHOU 11
KTBU 55
Austin, TX
KXAN
KNVA
KBVO
KVUE
Waco / Temple / Bryan, TX
KYLE
KWKT
KAGS
El Paso, TX
KTSM
Tyler / Longview, TX
KETK
KFXK
KTPN-LD
CBS 19 KYTX
Amarillo, TX
KAMR
KCIT
KCPN
Lubbock, TX
KLBK
KAMC
Midland / Odessa, TX
KMID
KPEJ
NewsWest9 KWES Midland-Odessa
Wichita Falls, TX
KFDX
KJTL
KJBO-LP
Abilene, TX
KTAB
KRBC
KXVA
San Angelo, TX
KSAN
KLST
KIDY
There might be more stations in one market than you even imagined when you merge the two large station owners.
I am no FCC TV merging expert, but I can't imagine this list will be the final one when the transaction is expected to close by the second half of 2026. Does this mean more swapping with another company, depending on how much the FCC increases station ownership limits?
And that's wild to me that Nexstar could own both top-rated KXAN and KVUE. The company already owns two top-affiliated stations in smaller Texas markets, but not in a market the size of Austin.
But what will happen with CW33 and CW39 buying the former BELO stations WFAA 8 DFW and KHOU 11 Houston? Forget a duopoly, this would be a triopoly (more than that in other markets)!
“Nexstar has a stellar long-term record of growth through its deals, having completed many well-received transactions since 2011, including the 2019 acquisition of Tribune Media," Nexstar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Perry A. Sook said in the deal's press release. "The playbook we followed to make those transactions successful – improving and increasing local content, executing on identified synergies, and quickly de-leveraging our balance sheet with free cash flow post close – are the same opportunities and strategies we will use in connection with this transaction. With committed financing and a plan for significant synergy realization, we believe the combined entity will be poised for growth, leverage reduction, and the enhancement of shareholder value.”
From what I observed in the Tribune takeover, Nexstar came in and replaced the top management of its new station. Let's take Houston, for example. I cannot imagine that the managers of KIAH will take over KHOU. While anything is possible in broadcasting, taking a low-rated CW station's leadership and putting those people in charge of a former crown jewel of the BELO world seems far-fetched. Stay tuned.
Based on my thinking and others I have been talking to over the last few weeks, we believe 39 will be merged into 11. If there are open positions at KHOU, then some KIAH people could move over, as Nexstar will most likely cut any redundant jobs.
Will the newly rebranded CW39 morning newscast be cancelled? I'm going out on a limb here, but could the new KHOU 7 to 9am newscast show also be broadcast on channel 39 at the same time?
And I can't imagine anyone disagreeing that the ABC13 newscast on 39 at 9 will be replaced by a KHOU-produced newscast once the KTRK contract ends.
Here is something else to ponder.
Naturally, the combined Houston stations will be under one roof. But what about this scenario? CW39 moves over to 5718 Westheimer at the newish KHOU studios. Makes sense, but let's think about this deeper. KHOU surely rents its two floors in this Class A office tower in the expensive Galleria area. According to the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD), Nexstar owns the KIAH studios at 7700 Westpark Drive. The old 39 building is not large enough to handle KHOU right now. What if Nexstar tears down those KIAH studios Paul Boesch made famous and builds a brand new operations center for 11, 39, and 55 in its place right on the edge of Houston's Mahatma Gandhi District?
We'll see if anything I wrote here has any chance of actually coming true. I'm guessing, like anyone else, at this point.
Stay tuned, this is all about to be a bumpy ride.
