UCC Media Justice is no stranger to standing up for accountability and localism in our media. Today, we are celebrating our allies in this fight: eight attorneys general and the company DirecTV, who secured a longer-lasting freeze on the Nextar/TEGNA merger.
Chief U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley in Sacramento issued a preliminary injunction blocking Nexstar’s acquisition of TEGNA. This is a major win. Unlike the temporary restraining order that preceded it, this injunction is likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future.
This transaction should never have occurred in the first place. It is critically important that this transaction stays frozen until it is undone, which is why advocates are in two courts making sure it stays blocked.
We’re in court in DC challenging the FCC’s approval of this merger, and on the West Coast, the merger is being challenged in an antitrust lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia, and the satellite TV company DirecTV. We’re grateful they did what federal regulators would not.
As we’ve explained before, at times like these we need more local, accountable journalism — huge media mergers would add fuel to the fire when democracy is at stake. Congress wrote a 39% cap into federal law to prevent any single broadcaster from reaching more than 39% of American households. The FCC approved a deal that would have put Nexstar at 80%. These attorneys general stood up for that law when the agency charged with enforcing it walked away.
Judge Nunley called the FCC’s clearance process “unusual.” We have put it less politely. On March 19, the FCC approved the merger at the staff level, without a full commission vote, a public hearing, or consideration of the analysis in our 143-page petition to deny. The judge found that the agency’s review had not stopped the merger’s anticompetitive harms. That is what we have been saying for months.
Local newsrooms are how people find out what is happening on their own streets and in their own statehouses. When one company owns hundreds of stations, newsrooms close and local voices go quiet. For now, the Nexstar news teams should be able to continue their work as a separate, independent outlet in local communities.
Nexstar has said it will appeal to the Ninth Circuit. The fight is not over. Our own case against the FCC’s approval continues in federal court in DC, alongside Free Press, Public Knowledge, and the Communications Workers of America. Even if Nexstar appeals the injunction, we are in court seeking similar relief — to stop the merger while the court takes a close look and ensures the law is followed. This merger is frozen, and it should stay that way. We will keep pushing.