WASHINGTON – Newsmax Media, Inc. has formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to block the proposed $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA Inc., warning that the deal would violate federal law, harm competition, raise prices for consumers, and damage local news across the country.
In a detailed Petition to Deny filed Dec. 31 with the FCC, Newsmax argues that the transaction represents an unprecedented consolidation of broadcast power that Congress has expressly prohibited.
The filing is signed by Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy.
If the deal is approved, Nexstar would become the largest TV station owner in the nation owning 244 television stations across 44 states.
The company also owns NewsNation, the left-leaning cable news channel that leads its prime-time programming each night with former CNN host Chris Cuomo.
"This transaction violates the law and creates an unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of one broadcaster," the petition states.
In a statement Ruddy said, "This merger would create an unprecedented and dangerous consolidation within the broadcast TV industry, giving them immense control over local news and political news coverage."
Newsmax added that approval would set the stage for a domino effect of similar mergers that would further entrench liberal media dominance in the television industry.
At the center of Newsmax's opposition is the national television ownership cap set by Congress at 39% of U.S. television households.
According to the filing, Nexstar concedes that the combined company would reach nearly 80% of U.S. households in real terms.
Congress fixed the 39% cap in 2004 and explicitly stripped the FCC of authority to modify it, Newsmax argues.
In an ex parte letter filed with FCC, respected legal scholar Brian Fitzpatrick, a former law clerk for Justice Scalia, argued that any change in the cap by FCC, including waivers, is a direct violation of law.
Newsmax noted in its filing the Commission "lacks the authority to waive or forbear from the statute," making approval of the transaction legally impossible.
President Donald Trump has not weighed in on the merger, but in late November he shared on his Truth Social a Newsmax report opposing the Nexstar merger.
Trump wrote in his post: "NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER! President DJT."
Newsmax is not alone in opposing the lifting of the 39% cap.
The influential CPAC, Zionist Organization of America, and other groups have publicly opposed the move.
Massive Local Market Control
Newsmax also contends that the merger would violate FCC local television ownership rules in 23 markets, where Nexstar would control three stations in the same market.
Those markets include major metropolitan areas such as Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Denver, Cleveland, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and San Diego.
Granting waivers, Newsmax argues, would allow Nexstar to dominate local advertising markets and consolidate news operations, leading to newsroom closures, layoffs, and reduced local coverage.
Nexstar has projected $300 million in annual "synergies," savings that Newsmax says can only be achieved through significant cuts to staff and facilities.
Beyond ownership rules, the filing warns that the merger would intensify anticompetitive conduct in related markets, particularly retransmission consent negotiations with cable and satellite providers.
Nexstar's retransmission revenues have already grown from $298 million in 2015 to $2.9 billion in 2024, and company executives have indicated that nearly half of projected merger synergies would come from higher retransmission fees.
Those increases, Newsmax argues, would be passed directly to consumers in the form of higher pay-TV bills.
Broadcasters have increased retransmission fees by more than 2,000 percent over the past 15 years, and Newsmax says the deal would further accelerate that trend.
The company also alleges that Nexstar has used its local station leverage to favor its own cable network, NewsNation, at the expense of higher-rated competitors like Newsmax.
Newsmax has noted that it has five times the ratings of competitor NewsNation, but the liberal news channel still received significantly more in cable license fees and advertising revenues.
Additional consolidation, the filing warns, would give Nexstar even greater ability to pressure distributors and marginalize rival and conservative voices.
Newsmax places particular emphasis on the public interest harms to local news production.
While Nexstar claims the merger would strengthen local journalism, Newsmax argues the opposite is more likely — especially in rural and mid-sized markets where broadcast television is often the primary source of local news.
Merging newsrooms and rebroadcasting the same content on multiple stations, Newsmax says, undermines the FCC's longstanding commitment to localism and diversity of viewpoints.
Newsmax urges the FCC to deny the applications outright.
At a minimum, it asks that the matter be designated for a formal hearing and reviewed by the full Commission rather than delegated to the Media Bureau.
"This merger is no better than others the FCC has already blocked," the filing concludes, referencing prior failed deals involving Sinclair and Tribune and Standard General and TEGNA.
"The Commission should reject the proposed transaction because it violates the law, will harm competition, and will damage the public interest."
The FCC has not yet indicated how it will proceed on the Nexstar-TEGNA applications.
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