Last fall, local broadcast television station owners Nexstar and Tegna announced a $6.2 billion merger. The deal will vault the first and third largest local TV station owners in the United States into the top slot, opening a yawning gap between the size of Nexstar-Tegna and the next largest station owner, Gray Television. The resulting behemoth will control about 265 full-power TV stations, capable of reaching larger regional areas, as compared to lower-power stations. These stations operate in the vast majority of states and in over 60% of local markets, or designated market areas (DMAs). Its national audience reach will top over 80% of U.S. households.
The myriad ways in which a single, powerful TV station owner will touch the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans are stunning. By eliminating major, head-to-head competition in local TV, the merger will tilt bargaining power in markets all along the supply chain. This risks higher subscription prices for multi-video programming (MVP) services that carry local TV stations; higher TV advertising rates for local businesses; and the erosion of diversity of political, social, and cultural viewpoint in local news reporting and content.
In any other political administration, Americans could have counted on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure that the Nexstar-Tegna merger never made it out of the boardroom or, alternatively, was dead on arrival at the agencies’ doorsteps. Not so under the Trump administration. The deal is papered with opportunism and cronyism that is now the hallmark of a politicized U.S. antitrust enforcement and regulatory system. U.S. consumers will be the big losers.
