Policyband

Optimum CEO Pitches FCC Chairman Carr on Nexstar-TEGNA Conditions

Dennis Mathew urges FCC leader to require 'divestiture of Big-4 triopolies in a local market'

Ted Hearn

Mar 3, 2026 — 9 min read

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Deal: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is giving face time to critics of the $6.2 billion Nexstar-TEGNA merger, a transaction he supports. According to a March 2 filing with the FCC, Carr met Feb. 26 with Optimum Communications’ Board Chairman and CEO Dennis Mathew. In January 2025, shortly before Carr became Chairman, Nexstar and Optimum had a bruising retransmission consent battle in which Optimum temporarily lost 63 Nexstar stations in 42 cable markets. In the Carr meeting Mathew floated a few merger conditions, including “requiring the merging parties to forgo enforcement of any automatic retransmission consent rate increases resulting from after-acquired station clauses, until existing contracts expire.” After-acquired clauses have annoyed cable and satellite TV operators for many years. (More after paywall)