The Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday evening that it had approved the $6.2 billion merger of major broadcast station owners Nexstar and Tegna.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr said that Nexstar had agreed to "certain concrete conditions" as part of the deal, including "divesting a number of stations, increasing localism, and affordability steps."
According to an FCC document obtained by News 3, Nexstar will have to sell six stations — including WAVY-TV in Portsmouth — as a part of the deal. The sale must be completed "no later than two years following the TEGNA Closing Date."
This merger is contingent on the Federal Communications Commission changing a long-standing rule barring a single company from owning TV stations that reach more than 39% of households. Nexstar had said the deal would give it a reach of 80%.
The FCC said in a statement announcing its approval that Nexstar's acquisition of Tegna will "enable these broadcast TV stations to counter the growing power that national programmers have amassed in recent years."
The move came on the same day that attorneys general in eight states, including Virginia and North Carolina, and DirecTV filed separate lawsuits seeking to block the deal, arguing that it will lead to higher prices for consumers and stifle local journalism.
"Unfortunately, we already know what happens when Nexstar comes to town to buy local television stations – stations close, jobs are cut, and local news quality is reduced," Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed by Jones and seven other attorneys general in the U.S. District Court for the eastern District of California, alleging the proposed merger would violate the Clayton Act. The 1914 antitrust act was meant to prevent mergers that lessen competition or create a monopoly.
