Policyband

Nexstar CEO Sook: Having Trump's Support for TEGNA Deal 'Doesn’t Hurt in the Regulatory Agencies'

Sook Remains Confident Deal Will Close Before July and DOJ Will Embrace a Video Market Definition That Goes Beyond Just TV Stations

Ted Hearn

Mar 5, 2026 — 9 min read

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■ Nexstar Team Meets with Carr on TEGNA Deal ■ Carr Wants Call Center CSRs to Speak Good English ■ Optimum Promotion: 300 Mbps for $25 a Month ■ Analyst Adonis Hoffman Links TV’s Future to Deregulation ■ Bellevue, Iowa, to Shut Down City-Owned Cable TV System ■ Charter Unlikely to Post Video Sub Growth in Q1: CEO ■ Scripps to Form ABC-NBC Duopoly in Lexington, Kentucky, ■ NextNav Foes to Take Case to Capitol Hill Today ■ AMC Networks First Programmer to Co-Host SCTE

Merger: Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said Wednesday the company remains in “active discussions with both the FCC and the DOJ about his $6.2 billion TEGNA merger. “I would say certainly having the endorsement of the nation’s chief executive doesn’t hurt in the regulatory agencies,” Sook said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco. Trump backed the deal on Feb. 7 in a Truth Social post. “Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future. GET THAT DEAL DONE! PRESIDENT DJT,” Trump said. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly endorsed the transaction a little later.