FCC Lets Nexstar Buy Tegna, Creating Trump-Approved Broadcaster Reaching 80% of US Households

FCC Lets Nexstar Buy Tegna, Creating Trump-Approved Broadcaster Reaching 80% of US Households

The FCC under Trump appointee Brendan Carr has approved Nexstar Media Group's acquisition of Tegna Inc., creating a broadcasting behemoth that reaches approximately 80% of US television households. The deal blows past the traditional 39% national TV ownership cap.

The Deal

• Acquirer: Nexstar Media Group, already the largest US TV station owner
• Target: Tegna Inc., owner of 64 television stations across 51 markets
• Combined reach: ~80% of US television households
• Previous cap: FCC's national ownership limit was 39% of TV households

How They Bypassed the Cap

Nexstar used a regulatory interpretation to exceed the 39% cap:

• UHF discount: A loophole that counts UHF stations as reaching fewer households than they actually do
• Regulatory interpretation: The FCC under Carr reinterpreted how market reach is calculated
• Policy shift: The Trump FCC has signaled willingness to relax media ownership rules

Concerns

Media watchdogs and consumer advocates raise several alarms:

1. Media consolidation: Fewer owners means less diverse viewpoints
2. Local news impact: Nexstar could centralize news operations, reducing local journalism
3. Political influence: A single company reaching 80% of households has enormous political messaging power
4. Competitive concerns: Advertisers face fewer options and potentially higher rates

The Political Dimension

The approval has clear political implications:

• Brendan Carr: Trump-appointed FCC chairman, actively pursuing deregulation
• Conservative media: Nexstar has been seen as sympathetic to conservative viewpoints
• Local media landscape: Critics fear the deal accelerates the decline of independent local journalism

Historical Context

Media consolidation has been a decades-long trend:

• 1996 Telecom Act: Loosened ownership restrictions, triggering consolidation wave
• Sinclair Broadcast Group: Previous attempts to grow beyond 39% cap faced regulatory pushback
• Local journalism crisis: Thousands of local newsroom closures as consolidation accelerated

Source: Ars Technica | Full Report