Nexstar-TEGNA Foes Take Their Shots in FCC Filings
The assault was as expected: The 39% cap stands in the way of a deal that would, if approved, gut TV newsrooms, drive up the cost of pay-TV subscriptions, and reduce competition in local TV markets
Merger, Part I: It wasn’t a tidal wave, but the opposition to the Nexstar-TEGNA merger wasn’t exactly a trickle, either. DIRECTV, Dish parent EchoStar, the American TV Alliance (which includes DIRECTV and Echostar), several state broadband associations (for their cable TV members), Newsmax and some public interest groups flooded the FCC with the same message: Block the big TV merger. Across the board, they argued that the $6.2 billion transaction was unlawful because it would put Nexstar over the FCC’s 39% cap on the percentage of TV households a single broadcaster may reach nationally. There’s a debate raging whether the 39% cap is statutory, putting it beyond the FCC’s reach to waive, relax, or abolish. Nexstar is seeking a waiver. “What the [Nexstar-TEGNA] call a request for waiver of the national cap is nothing less than a shameless request for its near-total obliteration,” Echostar lawyers said in a Dec. 31, 2025, filing. “The [FCC] does not have the authority to waive, let alone vitiate, the National Cap.” (More after paywall.)
