President Trump favors it, and both the Justice Department and the FCC support it, but a U.S. federal judge in California does not. As a result, Nexstar will have to appeal the decision in order to proceed with its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, which would create the largest local TV station group in the United States.
The merger is also opposed by eight U.S. states, including California, Colorado, and New York, as well as by the satellite broadcaster DirecTV.
According to U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley, the merger could violate the Clayton Act, which prohibits anticompetitive mergers.
To approve the deal under Trump’s administration, the FCC granted a waiver of its TV station ownership rules, which limit any one company to reaching 39 percent of U.S. TV households. The Nexstar–Tegna merger would increase that reach to about 60 percent.
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