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The attorneys general in eight states and DirecTV have filed antitrust lawsuits to block the planned merger of Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc.
While Indiana is not part of the lawsuit, the two broadcast giants own three of the four big local stations in Indianapolis. Nexstar owns Fox affiliate WXIN-TV Channel 59 and CBS affiliate WTTV-TV Channel 4. Tegna owns WTHR-TV Channel 13.
DirecTV said in a press release that the $6.2 billion merger, which was announced last August, would create a triopoly in Indianapolis, affecting more than 1.2 million “TV homes.”
The attorneys general for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virgina filed their lawsuit Wednesday.
DirecTV followed with its own lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on Thursday. DirecTV’s complaint alleges that the proposed $6.2 billion transaction will drive up consumer costs, reduce local competition, shutter local newsrooms and increase the number of program blackouts.
The Indiana Lawyer reached out to Nexstar and Tegna representatives for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
“DIRECTV supports the action taken by the states and has determined it is necessary to join this effort to protect competition and consumers,” said Michael Hartman, general counsel and chief external affairs officer at DirecTV, in a press release. “We have consistently made clear that this merger is anti-competitive and not in the public interest and, if it goes forward, will trigger a wave of similar consolidation.”
One key part of the complaint comes down to retransmission consent fees. DirecTV argues the merger will exacerbate the already rising fees that are charged by local station groups. The fees have increased more than 5,000% over the past two decades — from approximately $214.6 million in 2006 to an estimated $11.9 billion in 2025, DirecTV states.
“Retransmission consent fees are a large input cost for pay TV providers, which means the greater leverage and market power Nexstar will gain by buying its close rival TEGNA will translate into price increases that end up on millions of Americans’ monthly TV bills,” DirecTV said in a press release.
Nexstar currently owns more than 200 stations in 116 markets nationwide, and Tegna owns 64 stations in 51 different markets.
“The acquisition would give Nexstar control of 228 broadcast stations reaching 80% of television households in 132 local markets and increase concentration in dozens of local markets by more than 10 times the amount that is presumptively unlawful under the antitrust laws,” the complaint states. “That enormous increase in market power will enable Nexstar to raise prices and reduce the amount, variety, and quality of local news without having to worry about losing business to competition.”
When the merger was announced in August, Nexstar Chairman and CEO Perry Sook said he believed acquiring Tegna represented the “best option” for Nexstar to act on the regulatory environment created by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The initiatives being pursued by the Trump administration offer local broadcasters the opportunity to expand reach, level the playing field, and compete more effectively with the Big Tech and legacy Big Media companies that have unchecked reach and vast financial resources,” Sook said last summer.
The case is DIRECTV, LLC v. Nexstar Media Group, Inc.; and TEGNA Inc. (2:26-at-00488).
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