March 19 - The U.S. Department of Justice has unconditionally ended its review of Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $3.5 billion purchase of rival broadcaster Tegna by granting early termination, closing the DOJ’s probe into the deal.
The move does not mark the completion of regulatory and legal hurdles. A coalition of eight states filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, seeking to block the merger that would combine the two companies into the largest broadcast station group in the United States. In addition, streaming and satellite television provider DirecTV filed a separate lawsuit late Wednesday aimed at preventing the transaction.
Under the terms anticipated for the combined company, Nexstar would expand its coverage to reach approximately 80% of TV households across key geographies. The planned consolidation also would require action from the Federal Communications Commission to lift the current cap on station ownership.
Regulatory signals from the FCC have been mixed in public discourse: FCC Chair Brendan Carr has said he supports the merger and would move forward on approval, a posture he adopted following public backing of the deal by President Donald Trump.
Despite the DOJ’s decision to close its review, other avenues remain open to challenge or delay the transaction through the courts and further regulatory processes. Nexstar, Tegna and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The current state of the transaction is therefore a mix of cleared federal antitrust review and active legal opposition. With the DOJ no longer examining the deal, the outcome will now depend on how the litigation from states and private plaintiffs proceeds and how the FCC addresses ownership limits.