On Thursday evening, it was announced that Texas-based Nexstar Media Group, Inc., had closed its $6.2 billion merger with TEGNA Inc. following approval of the transaction by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
So the TL;DR of all this is that Nexstar now owns around 260 TV stations across the United States, including the CW TV network and the NewsNation cable channel. The company must get rid of six stations within two years, the FCC says.
For this deal to even happen, the FCC had to grant Nexstar a waiver lifting the ownership cap. In the past, TV owners could own only a limited number of stations, limiting their reach to 39% of the country. Deadline says the new Nexstar will now broadcast to around 80% of the country.
I haven't seen this discussed, but if Nexstar can go above the 39% cap, what's to stop another TV company from doing the same? Believe me, I have talked to another station group that has been preparing for this cap to be lifted. Stay tuned.
“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve," Nexstar’s Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Perry Sook, said in a release. "By bringing these two outstanding companies together, Nexstar will be a stronger, more dynamic enterprise—better positioned to deliver exceptional journalism and local programming with enhanced assets, capabilities, and talent. We are grateful to President Trump, Chairman Carr, and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and enabling this transaction to move forward.”
“The FCC has been focused on empowering broadcast TV stations to serve their local communities, consistent with their public interest obligations," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr added in a separate statement from the FCC. "Today’s agency decision does exactly that as both the record and Nexstar’s enforceable commitments demonstrate. For too long, the FCC stood by while newspapers closed by the dozen in communities all across the country. Those trusted sources of local news and information shuttered while the FCC dithered. If you care about local news, you should care about the future of local broadcast TV stations. Often, they are the ones in a market doing the gumshoe reporting that citizens value and need. By approving this transaction, which allows Nexstar to own less than 15% of television stations, the FCC acts mindful of the media marketplace that exits today—not the one from decades past—and the agency ensures that these broadcasters have the resources to continue investing in their local news operations.
“The D.C. Circuit has already determined that the relevant media ownership regulation is an agency rule, not a firm statutory limit, and the full Commission has reached the same determination on multiple occasions. Waiving that rule here is consistent with longstanding FCC authorities and doing so promotes the underlying purpose of the FCC’s media regulations by promoting competition, localism, and diversity. I want to thank the Media Bureau team for their great work on this matter.”
When the mega TV merger paperwork arrived at the FCC in December 2025, the agency said TEGNA operated 64 full-power broadcast television stations, one AM radio station, and one FM radio station. Nexstar operated 201 stations in 116 television markets. According to the applicants’ press release, the companies’ footprints overlapped in 35 designated market areas (DMAs), and the combined company would operate 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia and in 132 of the country’s 210 television DMAs. The applicants sought both a waiver of the FCC’s National Television Multiple Ownership rule and waivers of the Local Television Ownership rule in 23 DMAs to allow it to own more than two stations in the DMA; in addition, the consolidated company would own two stations in each of 17 DMAs. Nexstar has committed to divesting 6 stations across 6 DMAs, as well as to commitments on affordability and localism.
For those who call NexStar the DeathStar
But not everyone is happy about the giant local television station merger...
Earlier, eight states filed suit to block the big media merger.
And you don't have to go farther than the FCC's own website to find a dissenting voice on the merger.
Today, FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued the following statement after the FCC's Media Bureau approved the Nexstar/TEGNA merger, which violates the existing 39% national ownership cap in federal law, without an open and transparent process and a vote before the full Commission:
“The FCC has once again chosen bureaucratic cover over public accountability. This merger was approved behind closed doors with no open process, no full Commission vote, and no transparency for the consumers and communities who will bear the consequences. A transaction of this magnitude, which includes new and novel issues before the FCC, demands open deliberation before the full Commission, not a quiet sign-off meant to avoid public scrutiny. Given the increasingly alarming pace of reckless media consolidation, the American public deserves to know how and why this decision was made.
“Local journalism is under extraordinary strain. Across the country, newsrooms are being consolidated, reporters laid off, and editorial decisions made far from the communities broadcast stations are licensed to serve. The Nexstar/TEGNA merger will accelerate exactly that trend, concentrating broadcast power in fewer corporate hands, shrinking independent editorial voices, and prioritizing national business interests over local needs. Nexstar has already begun cutting newsrooms throughout the country, and as these billion-dollar companies grow even larger, their increased negotiating leverage will drive up fees that translate into higher monthly bills for those families who can least afford them. The consequences of this rubber stamp approval will be felt in living rooms and newsrooms across the country, resulting in fewer voices, less competition, and higher costs for consumers.”
Just tell me about Nexstar-Tegna Texas stations
In Texas, TEGNA owns KHOU Houston, WFAA Dallas, KENS San Antonio, KVUE Austin, KCEN Waco, KAGS College Station, KYTX Tyler, KIII Corpus Christi, KBMT-KJAC Beaumont, NewsWest 9 KWES Midland-Odessa, KXVA Abilene, and KIDY San Angelo. Nexstar will now own multiple TV stations in Houston, DFW, and Austin. But wait, Nexstar already owns multiple stations in smaller Texas markets.
So what does all this mean for the future of Nexstar-Tegna in Texas?
Uncle Perry, as the Nexstar CEO is often called, said on a podcast in October:
"From where I speak, and here in Dallas, we own the CW affiliate (CW33 KDAF), Tegna owns the ABC affiliate (WFAA 8).
"There's no local news on the CW because we can't afford to compete in a market like Dallas with a CW affiliate stand alone. So when we combine the two, they'll be in one building with, you know, one set of back office folks, and we'll be able to take the ABC news operation and expand their footprint and put, you know, news on the CW at 9:00, because ABC is programming until 10:00. We'll be able to when they go to Good Morning America, 7 to 9 in the morning, we'll be able to program local news on the CW affiliate using a lot of the same resources."
In Houston, KIAH only produces a CW39 morning newscast. In 2025, the KHOU 11 morning anchors launched an all-digital newscast at 7am. So why wouldn't the newly merged company just simulcast that online version on CW39, too? I expect that once the contract is up, the current CW39 9pm leased newscast from ABC13 KTRK will be replaced by "KHOU 11 News at 9pm on CW39."
Last year, I guessed that CW39 would move to KHOU's Westheimer studios for now. Since Nexstar owns the KIAH studios, they could tear down that building and build a new, larger, modernized space for both stations to eventually move back into. This is probably wrong, though.
Since then, I've heard a rumor that CW39 is moving into KHOU's Westheimer studios and both stations will stay there for the foreseeable future.
Stay tuned for more as the details are ironed out.
Oh, and the market that interests me the most in this is Austin. Nexstar's KXAN is the top-rated station. I believe TEGNA's KVUE has the second-highest ratings. What will happen in our state capitol in this situation?
In the meantime, here is the Perry A. Sook memo sent out to employees today titled "Welcome to Day 1":
" Today marks an important and historic milestone for Nexstar Media Group, Inc. With the closing of the transaction announced last August, Nexstar and TEGNA are now one company, which I think of as “New Nexstar.” Together, we have an exciting array of assets in the U.S. focused on creating and delivering local content to the communities we serve, backed by the resources and collective vision necessary to adapt to the realities of a rapidly changing media environment. Our future is filled with both threats to our business and opportunities to continue to evolve our company to not only survive those threats but to thrive.
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who worked so hard these last nine months to bring this transaction to a successful conclusion. Even more important, whether you are a long-time Nexstar employee or you are just joining the Nexstar Nation, we want to thank all of you for your continuing focus and commitment to serving our customers, viewers, users, and communities throughout the acquisition process.
Nexstar was built from a single TV station based on a commitment to serving its communities by producing and distributing the best possible local news and programming. New Nexstar today produces more than 400,000 hours of local content annually. Our local sales force does business with more than 60,000 SMBs in forty-four states. This local focus will continue to be our Northstar, and we will look for opportunities to expand our local content presence wherever possible.
Now, some important housekeeping information. For those of you joining us from TEGNA, you will be given credit for your years of service at TEGNA in terms of qualifying for Nexstar’s benefit and vacation policies. You will remain on your current TEGNA benefit plans and payroll system for the remainder of 2026. This ensures that you are not hit with double withholding taxes or double health insurance deductibles in this partial year period. Beginning in October, Nexstar’s Human Resources team will distribute detailed information about those plans as part of getting you prepared for Open Enrollment in November.
We are also pleased to invite our new colleagues to join us in participating in the celebration of Nexstar’s annual “Founder’s Day of Caring,” being held on Friday, June 12. It is a day when employees across the company are given half-day paid time-off to volunteer at local non-profit and/or community service organizations. This year’s Founder’s Day is particularly special, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nexstar’s founding. More detailed information about this effort will be shared in the next several days, and we are excited for you to take part in this very special connection to our communities.
Finally, we will host a town hall meeting for all our employees next week, which we will broadcast to all our locations. We will talk about the roadmap ahead, our top priorities for the remainder of 2026, and our expectations through year-end and beyond.
To our newest employees, welcome to the Nexstar Nation! We are going to do great things together.
With gratitude and a great deal of excitement for what lies ahead"
