Judge halts Nexstar/Tegna merger after FCC let firms exceed TV ownership limit

A judge issued a hold-separate order that prevents Nexstar from integrating Tegna while litigation continues.

Nexstar owned 201 TV stations and Tegna 64 before the deal, with six stations slated for divestiture.

DirecTV said the merger would eliminate head-to-head competition in 31 overlap markets and harm its retransmission bargaining power.

The order requires Tegna to retain control over retransmission negotiations, newsroom operations, programming, and ad sales.

Nexstar must submit arguments by April 1 and a compliance report by April 6, with a hearing on April 7.