The Federal Communications Commission approved the $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar and Tegna, creating the nation’s largest broadcaster in a deal that set off a fierce power struggle within conservative media.
The combined company will own more than 250 TV stations and reach more than half of American households, breaching a cap passed by Congress in 2004 that limits broadcasters to only reaching 39 percent of viewers. Commission Chair Brendan Carr has criticized the cap as outdated and overbroad and granted a waiver to allow the deal. But the cap’s supporters say it will create a monopoly that gives Nexstar unprecedented broadcast power over American households.
Nexstar announced on Thursday evening it has closed the deal following approval from both the FCC and Justice Department. DOJ didn’t immediately comment. The development comes just hours after eight Democratic attorneys general and DirecTV sued to block the deal.
“By approving this transaction, which allows Nexstar to own less than 15% of television stations, the FCC acts mindful of the media marketplace that [exists] 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,” Carr said in a statement.
“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said in a statement. “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.”
The approval marks a blow for Trump allies like Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a confidant to President Donald Trump who runs a conservative cable channel, and Charles Herring, the president of One America News Network, who opposed allowing such broadcast TV consolidation over what it might mean for their businesses and conservative media. Matt Schlapp, chair of the Conservative Political Action Conference, also opposed the deal.
But many Trump allies, including Carr, believe the merger will boost conservative TV content. Other supporters include political activists Laura Loomer and Mike Davis, former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer, and former House committee chairs like Greg Walden and Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
Dueling lobbying campaigns also flooded media markets, with one side claiming the merger will lead to higher prices for viewers and the other saying it’s needed to push back against biased liberal news.
The FCC approval happened without a vote among all three commissioners, with Carr delegating the decision to his Media Bureau. Nexstar is divesting six TV stations as part of the approval and made commitments to the FCC to invest in local news and programming, among other pledges involving affordability, equal opportunity employment and nondiscrimination.
Many detractors, including some congressional Democrats and figures like Ruddy, argue that only Congress can modify the cap.
Trump endorsed the merger last month, saying the transaction “will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level.” Carr, who has embraced Trump’s claim that the FCC is not an independent agency, subsequently expressed his own support for the deal hours later.
In a sign of escalating deliberations, Carr directly met with several of the top CEOs in recent weeks, including Nexstar CEO Perry Sook on Feb. 27 and detractors to the deal like DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow and Optimum Communications CEO Dennis Mathew.
Carr told POLITICO in late February that the cap could be loosened on a “case-by-case” approach, dependent on individual circumstances surrounding a given merger. That would give Carr even more discretion and leverage about approving deals coming before the agency. Broadcasters say the restriction is outdated and prevents them from better competing with streaming giants like Amazon and Netflix.
Some conservatives have favored scrapping ownership limits as a way to boost conservative content. They believe allowing affiliate TV broadcasters like Nexstar and Sinclair to get bigger will give them more leverage to push back on programming from more liberal coastal TV networks like ABC and NBC.
But some influential conservatives disagree. Ruddy last month testified before the Senate that he was “prepared to litigate” over the TV cap fight.
Ruddy has fought the deal for months and told POLITICO last year he had directly raised his concerns with Trump, although his critics believe he’s acting out of personal financial interest. Other parties objecting to the deal include consumer advocacy groups, organized labor and DirecTV, who fear it will hinder a diversity of voices in the media and cause ripple effects like higher cable prices.
Commissioner Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democrat, slammed the approval, criticizing both the merits of the deal and the lack of a vote among commissioners.
“The FCC has once again chosen bureaucratic cover over public accountability,” Gomez said. “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.”
She warned that “Nexstar has already begun cutting newsrooms throughout the country” and that “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.”
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