After comments from FCC Chair Brendan Carr supporting the deal between TEGNA and Nexstar Media Group, Congressional Republicans are urging the commission to do a full review before approving the merger.
On Wednesday, Carr signaled his support for the deal.
“I support that transaction. We’re going to be moving forward,” he told reporters.
The comments from Carr come after President Donald Trump also backed the merger earlier this month.
On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) authored a letter to the Carr, co-signed by 32 other Congressional Republicans, sharing their stance that the transaction needs more investigation before being approved by the FCC.
“Broadcast licenses are intended to serve local communities and the public interest, something that
should be key to the Commission’s decision-making process,” the letter reads. Congress established the 39 percent National TV Ownership Cap of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and reaffirmed this limit in 2004. President Reagan first instituted the Cap to protect local market television and news from being owned and coordinated by major networks. Multiple studies show that Americans get most of their community news from local TV stations, even more so with the decline of local newspapers, making these protections more important.
“Accordingly, we respectfully urge the full Commission to undertake a thorough, data-driven, and transparent review of any proposal to increase the National Ownership Cap,” the letter continues. “Such a review should evaluate impacts on local news production, advertising markets, retransmission consent fees, consumer costs, and viewpoint diversity. Given Congress’s clear statutory role, any reconsideration should be approached with deliberation and deference to that framework. We appreciate your attention to this important matter.”
With the 33 Congressional Republicans co-signing the letter, that now brings at least 40 members of Congress from the party that have publicly expressed hesitancy in approving the deal.
Should the merger receive FCC approval, Nexstar Media Group would add 64 stations from TEGNA to its already existing stable of 200 stations. That means the company could reach more than 80% of all U.S. households, well surpassing the current limit of 39%.
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