|
Eight state attorneys general and DirecTV sued to block the
merger between the local television giants, arguing that it
would raise consumer prices and harm local journalism. They
asked U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in
Sacramento, California, to halt the merger until their antitrust
lawsuit is resolved.
Nexstar's attorneys say the deal will lead to expanded local
journalism and programming, not a reduction.
Nunley extended the temporary restraining order until April 17,
saying the extension would give him time to prepare a ruling on
whether a longer preliminary injunction is needed. The judge
also modified the order so both companies could take “reasonable
steps” to handle regular business matters like meeting federal
debt reporting deadlines.
The deal, announced last year and approved by the Federal
Communications Commission, would create a company that owns 265
television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia,
most of them local affiliates of one of the “Big Four” national
networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
The merger needed the approval of the Republican Trump
administration’s FCC because the government had to waive rules
limiting how many local stations one company can own.
When the judge issued the original temporary restraining order
in the case, he said the merger could give Nexstar the power to
demand higher fees from multichannel video programming
distributors like DirecTV, because if the distributors refuse to
pay the increases they could risk subscribers losing access to
things like Sunday NFL football games.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
