When applying the UHF discount, Nexstar was at 39 percent before the merger and is now at 54.5 percent. In a merger-approval order issued by its Media Bureau, Carr found the FCC had the authority to waive the rule and said that considering a waiver on a case-by-case basis “gives us the opportunity to analyze whether a particular transaction will benefit the public, such as through increased investment in local news coverage and other programming of local interest.”
The FCC also lifted its local television ownership rule to allow Nexstar to own more than two full-power TV stations in 23 market areas, provided that Nexstar committed to divesting six stations in Denver, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; New Haven, Connecticut; Portsmouth, Virginia; Slidell, Louisiana; and Rogers, Arkansas.
The merger was challenged in a lawsuit filed this week by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said the merger would create “the largest broadcast station group in the United States, putting more broadcast programming into the hands of fewer people, taking control away from the communities they report on, cutting local jobs, and having a significant impact on the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.”
Nexstar and Tegna together own 221 Big Four stations, or about half the stations affiliated with Fox, NBC, ABC or CBS, the states said. The state AG today asked a federal judge in California to issue a temporary restraining order preventing Nexstar and Tegna from consolidating or combining the companies’ assets and asking Nexstar to “keep the acquired Tegna assets separate pending further proceedings.”
Opponents say only Congress can remove the 39 percent limit
In 2004, Congress amended the Telecommunications Act of 1996, requiring the FCC to increase the national audience reach threshold from 35 to 39 percent. The 2004 law change also states that the FCC cannot use its forbearance authority under Section 10 of the Communications Act to stop enforcing telecommunications rules on entities that exceed the 39 percent limit.
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