Nexstar buys Tegna for $6.2 billion, creating biggest local TV company ever

Nexstar, the biggest TV station owner in America, announced it will buy Tegna for $6.2 billion on Tuesday, as reported by CNN, due to the major market impact of this deal. This massive purchase will create the largest collection of local TV stations in the country. The deal is said to occur because Nexstar believes the Trump administration will allow such big mergers to go through. Currently, companies can only reach 39 percent of all American TV homes, but station owners want this limit raised, CNN says. The companies also mentioned having a need to grow bigger to compete with tech giants like Google and Facebook.

Public interest groups worry that when big companies merge, it hurts competition and reduces local news coverage that people depend on. However, investors are excited about the deal, and both company stocks went up after the news broke. CNN notes that the Wall Street Journal reported Sinclair also wants to merge with Tegna, showing more consolidation is coming.

The purchase deal involves Nexstar paying $22 per share in cash for all of Tegna's stock, according to UPI's coverage of the transaction details. This price gives Tegna shareholders a 31 percent bonus compared to the average stock price over the past month. Tegna started as a separate company in 2015 when Gannett newspaper company split into two parts.

Nexstar already owns 197 TV stations across America and also runs WGN Radio in Chicago, plus the CW network and NewsNation. After buying Tegna's 64 stations, the combined company will have 265 stations in 44 states plus Washington, DC. This means they will reach 80 percent of all American TV households, which is much higher than the current 39 percent limit. UPI reports the deal should be completed by late 2026, but it needs government approval first. Many Democrats and public interest groups are concerned about letting one company control so much media.

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The merger will significantly impact Alabama viewers since both companies own stations in the state, as detailed by AL.com's local market analysis. Tegna owns WZDX in Huntsville, while Nexstar runs WIAT in Birmingham, WHNT in Huntsville, WDHN in Dothan, and WKRG in Mobile. This deal comes just one day after Sinclair, which owns ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, also offered to buy Tegna. The timing shows how much the TV industry wants to grow. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook believes the Trump administration will help local TV stations expand and compete better with big tech companies that have unlimited reach and lots of money.

AL.com notes this deal follows another recent sale where Allen Media Group sold Alabama stations WAAY in Huntsville and WCOV in Montgomery to Gray Media for $171 million. The combined Nexstar-Tegna company will be worth much more than traditional limits allow, but executives expect new rules will make such large mergers possible.