A federal judge has approved a temporary injunction blocking the merger of Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA.
On Friday evening, U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley sided with DirecTV, Newsmax, and a coalition of state attorney generals that argued the move was likely to harm the satellite company and consumers who lived in the challenging states.
Earlier this year, Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA received FCC approval to merge, putting Nexstar in control of 228 local TV stations. That figure would grant it access to approximately 80% of U.S. TV households, well surpassing the legal cap of 39%.
After the challenge from the satellite company and the state attorneys general, Nunley last month issued a similar ruling in the California court.
The Friday ruling does not undo the acquisition. However, it does stop Nexstar from operating TEGNA‘s stations. It also prevents the business operations from being consolidated. It also prevents the sharing of business-related information between the two organizations until a more concrete ruling is determined.
In a statement, Nexstar Media Group said it plans to appeal the decision.
“This transaction closed more than four weeks ago following receipt of all required regulatory approvals
from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice,” the statement reads. “Nexstar Media Group now owns TEGNA and has taken steps consistent with the Court order that has been in effect.
“For nearly thirty years, Nexstar has provided free over-the-air access to all its broadcast stations — local
news, weather, and community-focused programming alongside major network programming,” it continued. “This pro-competitive transaction will make local stations stronger and support continued investment in local journalism and fact-based news. We will appeal today’s decision and look forward to presenting our case on its merits before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.”
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