Attorney General Phil Weiser sues to block $6.2B Nexstar/Tegna broadcast merger

March 19, 2026 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser today joined seven other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to block the acquisition of Tegna Inc. by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Tegna and Nexstar are two major broadcast station companies that own and operate television stations throughout the country. Tegna owns KUSA/9News and Nexstar owns KDVR/Fox 31 in Denver. If allowed to proceed, the merged company would own 265 television stations across 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching 80% of U.S. households. The deal would create the largest broadcast station group in the United States, putting more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, removing control from the communities they report to, cutting local jobs, and significantly impacting the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.

In Denver, the merger would create a dominant local broadcast station, with over 57% of the market in the hands of a single company, making the merger presumptively illegal under established antitrust standards.

“The proposed Nexstar/Tegna merger would give Nexstar control over an astonishing number of television stations across the nation, including KUSA and KDVR in Denver. If this merger succeeds, it will reduce competition in local news operations, Colorado viewers will have less choice in news, and there will be less diversity in perspectives. Not only will this merger reduce the quality of local TV offerings, but consumers will also end up paying more for monthly cable TV or satellite service as a result. Competition in the local media market is critical for a healthy democracy, an informed citizenry, and affordable access to sports, news, and prime time shows. For these reasons, we are suing to block the Nexstar/Tegna merger,” said Attorney General Weiser.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which holds that mergers that substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal. In addition to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission also has authority and responsibility to halt such a merger, as the $6.2 billion Nexstar/Tegna deal violates a longstanding FCC rule that would prohibit this merger.

On February 7, 2026, however, President Trump tweeted “Get that deal done!,” saying that the two companies should be allowed to merge to “Knock out the Fake News” from the “Fake News National TV Networks.” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr immediately responded on social media: “Let’s get it done.”

The Trump administration has shown that it is more concerned with protecting favored corporations than protecting consumers and enforcing antitrust laws that help make life affordable for American families. Attorney General Weiser has responded to this corrupting of the rule of law by intervening when the Trump administration approved the Hewlett Packard Enterprise/Juniper Networks merger not for the public interest, but to line the pockets of its friends in the wireless networking equipment industry. The attorney general also is continuing to fight for live music fans after the Justice Department inked a sham settlement days into the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger trial.

In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Weiser joins the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virgina.

Read the lawsuit opposing the Nexstar/Tegna merger settlement (PDF).

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Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov