By Dave Michaels and Dana Mattioli
A coalition of states is preparing to challenge Nexstar Media Group's planned $6.2 billion acquisition of rival broadcaster Tegna, people familiar with the matter said, in a move that would underscore the legal risks facing media mergers despite the Trump administration's embrace of big deals.
The states, which include California, Colorado and New York, would sue on antitrust grounds, believing the deal would result in too much concentration in some local TV markets. The states would proceed with the lawsuit, the people said, if the deal gets regulatory clearance from the Federal Communications Commission, whose chairman has endorsed it.
A legal challenge from states would show how attorneys general are stepping up to oppose deals as the Trump administration takes a more lenient view on consolidation.
Nexstar is the largest operator of local TV stations in the country, while Tegna is in the top five. In similar deals in the past, antitrust enforcers have alleged that combining local media companies would hurt competition in television advertising and potentially raise prices for consumers who pay for the channels via a cable or satellite provider.
President Trump last month said he supports the merger, writing on Truth Social that a bigger Nexstar would balance out "the Fake News National TV Networks."
Nexstar has run ads in recent months featuring Trump and pushing for the deal to be approved. It says the deal is good for local news and will get the necessary federal approvals. Nexstar owns or partners with over 200 stations across the U.S. and has a majority stake in the CW Network.
"Having the endorsement of the nation's chief executive doesn't hurt in the regulatory agencies," Nexstar chief executive Perry Sook told Wall Street analysts this week.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on whether its antitrust division will challenge the merger.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said last month that he supports the deal, although it would require the agency to waive or change current television-station ownership rules. Federal law limits any one company's reach to 39% of the nation's television homes. Combined with Tegna, which owns or operates 64 stations, Nexstar would reach 60%.
Under its current proposal, Nexstar would in some markets own or operate three local broadcasters, including in the San Angelo and Tyler-Longview-Nacogdoches markets in Texas. It would have the Fox and CBS affiliates in San Diego, and the Fox and NBC stations in Denver.
The state antitrust enforcers plan to oppose the deal even if the Justice Department allows it, the people familiar with the matter said.
States sometimes challenge deals even when federal agencies allow them, said Diana Moss, vice president and director of competition policy at the Progressive Policy Institute. "This merger creates an incredibly large, powerful entity that will have superior bargaining power over a lot of participants in the supply chain," said Moss, who opposes the deal.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, has said he would take a close look at another big media deal: Paramount's purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount emerged last week as the winner of bidding war to acquire the movie and television company. The Justice Department also is reviewing the deal.
Write to Dave Michaels at dave.michaels@wsj.com and Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 06, 2026 14:14 ET (19:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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