April 20, 2026 11:19 AM UTC

Federal Judge Halts Nexstar-Tegna Merger that Threatens 9News

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• by: Colorado Pols

We’ve been sounding the alarm since last August about a proposal by conservative television giant Nexstar Media Group to purchase Tegna, which would imperil the very existence of the Denver Metro area’s most popular news station for the last 50 years.

Tegna owns 64 local news stations across the United States, including 9News in Colorado. While Nexstar hasn’t explicitly stated their intentions to get rid of 9News, media industry experts believe that outcome to be a foregone conclusion; the most-likely scenario is that Nexstar would shut down 9News and run content from its Fox 31 News station on those channels instead. The Nexstar deal for Tegna went through in late February, after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr greased the wheels in 2025 by pushing to eliminate restrictions that allowed one company to own and operate multiple news stations in the same local market, but now a federal judge is pumping the brakes.

From The Associated Press:

A federal judge has blocked a $6.2 billion merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna until an antitrust lawsuit is resolved.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, made the ruling late Friday afternoon, finding that eight attorneys general and DirecTV were likely to prevail in their legal bid to stop the merger. The attorneys general, all Democrats, and DirecTV contend the merger will lead to higher prices for consumers, stifle local journalism and that the deal runs afoul of federal laws designed to protect against monopolies. [Pols emphasis]

The deal, announced last year and approved by the Federal Communications Commission, would create a company that owns 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, most of them local affiliates of one of the “Big Four” national networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

That would likely give Nexstar the power to raise the retransmission fees it charges to video programming distributors like DirecTV, which means higher bills for consumers, Nunley wrote. The company also has a track record of consolidating local television news stations when it owns more than one station in a market, the judge said, meaning viewers “will lose options for where to get their local news.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is among those Democratic AGs who sued to stop the Nexstar deal over what seem to be fairly obvious anti-competition problems. As The New York Times reports, Judge Troy L. Nunley is keenly aware of the concerns:

Nunley said in his ruling that Nexstar, another station owner, would have to take steps to remain separate from Tegna pending further court proceedings.

“Nexstar must permit Tegna to continue operating as a separate and distinct, independently managed business unit from Nexstar, and Nexstar must put measures in place to maintain Tegna as an ongoing, economically viable, and active competitor,” Judge Nunley wrote…

…The merger was supported by President Trump, who framed the merger as a team-up that would provide more competition against national TV networks, which he referred to as “the enemy” in a post on social media. [Pols emphasis]

The ruling comes as states and private actors step up their scrutiny of corporate America while the Trump administration is settling antitrust and consumer protection lawsuits. This week, a jury found that Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster, had acted as a monopoly, violating antitrust laws. That decision came weeks after the Justice Department struck a nine-figure deal with Live Nation to settle similar claims.

Nexstar was one of the drivers of the brief shutdown of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last September; Nexstar CEO Perry Sook generally does whatever President Trump wants and goes out of his way to shower the Big Orange Guy with praise.

This is all very good news. Regardless of your opinion about 9News, nobody benefits (other than corporate shareholders) from less journalism.