Nexstar merger with Tegna would give it 80% of US tv households. Trump endorses

https://deadline.com/2026/02/ktla-mark-kriski-nexstar-layoffs-1236736389/

In yet another shakeup in the local TV news space, a number of longtime anchors at stations in Los Angeles and Chicago have been laid off. The cuts come as the stations’ corporate parent, Nexstar Media Group, seeks to cut costs as it pursues a merger with rival Tegna.

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Nexstar has 201 stations in 116 local markets across the country. It reaches 70% of U.S. households.
Tegna owns 64 television stations in 51 U.S. markets and reaches more than 100 million people monthly across the web, mobile apps, streaming and linear television. 

After the merger, which had been reported as being imminent in August 2025, the resulting company will have 265 stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing 80% of U.S. TV households. That footprint far exceeds the longtime 39% limit on ownership of stations, which had been kept in place by both Republican and Democratic administrations over the past three decades.


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Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has been one of the most vocal opponents of the 39% cap, calling it outdated in an era of Big Tech and diversified distribution and calling on the Trump Administration and the FCC to do away with the limit. 

Earlier this year, President Trump seemingly endorsed the deal, writing on Truth Social, “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks. Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level. 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”