Legal battle to halt Nexstar-Tegna TV station merger expands with five new states

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta has gained support in his lawsuit challenging Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of Tegna Inc., another television station group.

On Thursday, Attorney General Bonta revealed that five more states have joined his lawsuit to stop the $6.2 billion merger. This brings the total number of states involved to 13, and the effort now has support from both Democrats and Republicans.

According to Attorney General Bonta, antitrust enforcement isn’t about politics, but about safeguarding working families and making sure economic growth benefits all Americans, not just large, influential companies. He expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with other states on these efforts.

Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont have joined a lawsuit alongside California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia.

Nexstar owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge approved a temporary block on the merger, allowing the legal proceedings to continue. State attorneys general had requested the block, arguing that the merger – which Nexstar attempted to quickly finalize despite their objections – would create the largest television station group in the country, increasing its reach from 164 to 265 stations.

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Nexstar Media Group has finalized the purchase of Tegna, even though some state attorneys general objected to the deal.

Nexstar’s proposed acquisition would give it control of multiple major TV network stations in many cities, like San Diego and Sacramento. This overlap is worrying people, who fear it could lead to job cuts and fewer journalists reporting the news.

Attorney General Bonta emphasized that strong antitrust laws are vital for Americans, and that weakening these laws would harm consumers, workers, the cost of living, and local journalism.

DirecTV, based in El Segundo, has also sued to stop the merger, arguing that the combined Nexstar and Tegna would force them to pay much higher fees to carry those stations on their channel lineup, which would hurt their business.

A Nexstar representative was not immediately available for comment.

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Nexstar, the company that owns KTLA, told regulators that its recent large merger with Tegna wouldn’t reduce competition in the television market.

Nexstar argues the acquisition would improve the financial health of TV stations, enabling them to invest more in news coverage and offer more newscasts. However, DirecTV points out that in some markets where Nexstar owns two stations, they operate with only one newsroom to produce content for both, effectively limiting local news resources.

If Nexstar buys Tegna, the combined company would own television stations in 44 states, reaching 80% of all U.S. households. Nexstar is based in Irving, Texas.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Nexstar from acquiring Tegna, agreeing with arguments from Bonta and others that the merger could violate antitrust laws. The takeover is paused until a full trial can determine if it’s illegal.

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The move comes after Nexstar wins FCC approval and finalizes its $6.2-billion takeover

In a recent ruling, Judge Nunley ordered Nexstar to allow Tegna to continue operating as its own independent business. He also stated that Nexstar needs to ensure Tegna remains a strong and competitive company going forward.

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2026-05-01 03:32