2 hours ago
7
A national justice has blocked a $6.2 cardinal merger of section tv giants Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna until an antitrust suit is resolved.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley successful Sacramento, California, made the ruling precocious Friday afternoon, uncovering that 8 attorneys wide and DirecTV were apt to prevail successful their ineligible bid to halt the merger.
The deal, announced past year and approved by the Federal Communications Commission, would make a institution that owns 265 tv stations successful 44 states and the District of Columbia, astir of them section affiliates of 1 of the "Big Four" nationalist networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
Nunley had already issued an exigency bid blocking the woody for 3 weeks. On April 7, helium heard arguments implicit whether that artifact should beryllium extended until a suit brought by attorneys wide successful 8 states and DirecTV is resolved.
The attorneys general, each Democrats, and DirecTV contend the merger volition pb to higher prices for consumers, stifle section journalism and that the woody runs afoul of national laws designed to support against monopolies.
"Consolidating hundreds of section TV stations nether 1 firm proprietor would mean higher prices and little prime programming for consumers," said New York Attorney General Letitia James successful a connection pursuing the ruling. "Nexstar's merger with Tegna illegally eliminates competition, and contiguous we won a captious triumph successful our effort to enforce the instrumentality and halt this merger from moving forward."
Nexstar's attorneys told the tribunal the woody has already been reviewed and cleared by the FCC and the Justice Department. They said the FCC bid commits the institution to grow section journalism and programming, not shrink it.
In a statement, Nexstar said it volition entreaty Friday's ruling.
"This transaction closed much than 4 weeks agone pursuing receipt of each required regulatory approvals from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice," Nexstar said. "Nexstar Media Group present owns TEGNA and has taken steps accordant with the Court bid that has been successful effect."
The merger needed the support of the Republican Trump administration's FCC due to the fact that the authorities had to waive rules that bounds however galore section stations 1 institution tin own. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said successful March that the institution had agreed to divest itself of six stations.
In his exigency impermanent restraining order, the justice noted that the merger would marque Nexstar the proprietor of 2 oregon adjacent 3 of the "Big Four" section affiliates successful 31 section tv markets. Once that occurs, Nunley wrote, multichannel video programming distributors specified arsenic DirecTV would person to comply with Nexstar's demands for higher broadcast fees oregon hazard leaving subscribers perchance incapable to ticker things similar Sunday NFL shot games.
In:
English (US) ·