WHNT-TV Channel 19 owner Nexstar purchases Tegna, owner of WZDX-TV Fox 54
A mega broadcast merger now leaves Huntsville’s four TV stations in the hands of two companies.
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it had approved the purchase of Tegna, which owns WZDX-TV Channel 54, by Nexstar Media Group, the owner of WHNT-TV Channel 19.
Last August, Gray Media, the parent of WAFF-TV Channel 48, bought several stations, including WAAY-TV, Channel 31, from Allen Media Group.
Thursday’s $6.2 billion deal would create a company that owns 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, most of them local affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, reports said.
The deal also needed the approval of the FCC to waive a law that prevents any one company from owning broadcast stations that reach more than 39% of the U.S. TV households.
Critics of the move cited a threat to local news coverage by merging newsrooms in cities where Nexstar owned two stations – as in Huntsville.
“Local journalism is under extraordinary strain,” said Anna Gomez, a Democratic member of the FCC. “Across the country newsrooms are being consolidated, reporters laid off and editorial decisions made far from the communities broadcast stations are licensed to serve.
“The Nexstar-Tegna merger will accelerate exactly that trend, concentrating broadcast power in fewer corporate hands, shrinking independent editorial voices and prioritizing national business interests over local needs.”
However, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr countered Gomez, saying “if you care about local news, you should care about the future of local broadcast stations.” He said the deal will ensure that the broadcasters have the resources to continue investing in local news coverage.
According to the ruling, the FCC said “Nexstar has made significant commitments in the agency’s record as well, further ensuring that this transaction promotes the public interest. To further serve its local communities, Nexstar commits to expanding its investment in local news and programming, including increasing the amount of local news it provides in acquired markets.”
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said the deal will result in more robust local journalism.
“This transaction is essential to sustaining strong local journalism in the communities we serve,” he said. “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.
“We are grateful to President Trump, FCC Chairman Carr, and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and enabling this transaction to move forward.”
Meanwhile, DirecTV and attorneys general in eight states filed suits to block the merger.
The two groups cited Nexstar’s history of consolidating newsrooms in cities where it owns more than one station. There are 31 markets across the country where Nexstar and Tegna own at least one station, according to the states’ lawsuit.
The lawsuits also argue the deal will lead to higher prices for consumers and stifle local journalism.
DirecTV predicted the deal would allow Nexstar to jack up the price it can extract from DirecTV and other distributors to carry their stations, “which will force them to raise prices to their subscribers,” reports said.
