D.C. Memo: Sen. Warren Targets Nexstar-TEGNA as 'Presumptively Illegal' in Violating FCC's 39% Cap
In their letter to the FCC and Justice Department, Several Capitol Hill Democrats Addressed None of the Issues Driving the Merger, Such as the Need to Gain Scale to Battle Big Tech and Big Media
▪️E.W. Scripps Rejects Sinclair Merger Offer▪️DIRECTV Wins Antitrust Ruling against Nexstar and Two Sidecars▪️Senate Group Wants Answers from NTIA on $20 Billion in Leftover BEAD Funds▪️Ex-FCC General Counsel Thomas Johnson: FCC Can Change 39% Cap▪️ATVA’s Message to FCC: Only Congress Can Change 39% Cap▪️Free State Foundation to Congress: Drop FCC’s Public Interest Standard, Adopt Consumer Welfare Policy▪️MoffettNathanson: Broadband Price War Fears Hurt Cable Stocks in 2025▪️Sen. Capito Running for Re-Election in 2026▪️Newsmax Renews Carriage Deal with YouTube TV▪️Maureen Moore to Fill Consumer Role at GCI with Landes Retirement
Merger: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and five other Democrats in Congress urged federal regulators to heavily scrutinize Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA and to block it if it violates telecom or antitrust law.
In a letter Monday to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, Warren, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., warned that “regulatory approval of the conglomerate would likely raise prices for consumers, accelerate job losses, and weaken the independence and news coverage of local TV stations.”
The lawmakers’ seven-page letter addressed in detail none of the issues that Nexstar’s leadership has identified in justifying the merger – such as the ability of local TV stations to expand their reach to sustain local journalism and establish a level playing field to compete more efficiently with Big Tech and Big Media firms that are far wealthier and free from national and local ownership restrictions. (More after paywall.)
