Policyband

Nexstar-TEGNA Merger Battle Continues As Cable Operators Demand Huge Concessions

For starters, Nexstar would need to divest stations to get to 39% and could own no more than two stations in a local market

Ted Hearn

Mar 11, 2026 — 9 min read

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Merger: The battle continues. A coalition of state broadband associations with cable TV members wants the FCC to impose strict conditions on the Nexstar-TEGNA merger, a sign that this group has decided that trying to kill the deal was no longer plausible. Both President Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr support the transaction. In all, eight state trade groups, including the Broadband Communications Association of Pennsylvania, sent the FCC a letter on March 9 containing several provisions designed to eliminate Nexstar’s retransmission consent bargaining leverage to the maximum extent possible following completion of the merger. “These conditions, if imposed by the [FCC], would help mitigate the transaction’s public interest harms and save consumers from substantial imminent and long-term price hikes for the same broadcast programming they are getting today,” the cable broadband groups said. (More after paywall)