Special Report: Five Questions for OAN President Charles Herring
Conservative voices start to speak out on the Nexstar-TEGNA transaction
Intro: Charles Herring, president of Herring Networks and cable news network One America News (OAN), talks to Policyband about his concerns with Nexstar Media Group’s proposal to acquire TV station group TEGNA for $6.2 billion in cash and assumed debt. The deal requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission. If approved, the transaction would result in Nexstar’s owning 265 TV stations reaching 60% of TV households under current FCC rules.
Q1: Why do you believe the Nexstar-TEGNA merger poses a greater threat to competition than previous consolidation moves in the broadcast TV industry?
A: My concerns are less about any individual broadcaster and more about ownership concentration hindering a competitive marketplace by causing higher cable bills, frequent blackouts driven by contentious retransmission disputes, and reduced independent network carriage as distributors’ budgets evaporate due to monopolistic forces.
Q2: Is your point that Nexstar-TEGNA will take so large a share of the license fee market that there will not be enough money left for OAN to receive a fair rate?
A: The issue is broader than just OAN. As wholesale programming rates escalate well beyond reasonable levels, the downstream effect is that fewer, if any, true independent networks will retain carriage, with modest fees significantly narrowing choices for viewers.
