D.C. Memo: Nexstar-TEGNA Deal Sails Through Carr’s FCC in a Speedy 121 Days; CEO Sook Makes a Few Minor Concessions But That’s It
Nexstar has two years to sell six TV stations but in the end, it might not have to if FCC local TV ownership rules happen to change during the interval
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Approved: Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA closed their TV station merger Thursday after receiving deal approval from the FCC’s Media Bureau and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The FCC has been focused on empowering broadcast TV stations to serve their local communities, consistent with their public interest obligations. Today’s agency decision does exactly that as both the record and Nexstar’s enforceable commitments demonstrate,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement. Approval was a major policy and political victory for Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and his D.C. team led by Scott Weaver, especially in convincing President Trump to back it over the stiff opposition of the president’s close friend, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who has threatened court action. (More after paywall)