FCC gives its OK to Nexstar-Tegna merger, deal closes

The Federal Communications Commission gave the go-ahead for Nexstar Media Group to acquire Tegna — and the deal closed shortly after.

In order to make the $6.2 billion deal possible, the FCC has waived a rule that bars a single corporation from owning TV stations that, when combined, reach more than 39% of U.S. homes. Nexstar did need to agree to divest a handful of stations.

Nexstar separately announced that its acquisition of Tegna is complete. 

Nexstar to divest six stations under FCC conditions for Tegna deal

“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,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in a statement.

Nexstar has also indicated it received separate approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, though that department did not immediately comment.

“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said in a statement.

The only Democrat on the FCC, Anna Gomez, decried the decision.

“The FCC has once again chosen bureaucratic cover over public accountability,” she said in a statement. “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.”

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The approval comes the day after eight states’ attorneys general filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the merger on antitrust grounds.