Senators Question FCC Chairman Over Approval Of Nexstar-Tegna Merger

The leaders of the Senate committee that oversees the FCC are questioning how the agency gave approval to the Nexstar–Tegna transaction, the massive broadcast station merger that already has been paused by a federal court.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that the greenlight given to the merger earlier this month raises “serious concerns” about the “use of delegated authority in matters involving significant legal, policy, and economic consequences.”

Reach the senators’ FCC letter on Nexstar-Tegna.

The FCC’s Media Bureau signed off on the merger, but it did not get a vote of the full commission. Shortly after the FCC announced its approval and the Justice Department didn’t challenge it, Nexstar said that it had closed the deal.

The senators wrote, “The transaction is unprecedented in scale, resulting in the largest local broadcast
television group in U.S. history, with 259 full-power television stations across 44 states, reaching
nearly 80 percent of U.S. television households, even after required divestitures. A transaction
of this magnitude alone warranted consideration and a vote by the full Commission.”

At a press conference last week, Carr said that the merger may still go to a vote of the full commission.

But Cruz and Cantwell wrote in their letter to Carr, “Although you have indicated that a full Commission vote may still occur, the Commission has already approved the transaction on delegated authority, effectively determining the outcome. Under these circumstances, any subsequent vote risks being largely procedural rather than a genuine exercise of Commission responsibility.”

A FCC spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

On Friday evening, a federal judge in California granted a temporary restraining order that requires that Nexstar keep its assets and operations separate from Tegna for 14 days, or earlier if there is a new order from the court. The judge, ruling in an antitrust case brought by DirecTV, set an April 7 date for a preliminary injunction.

Cruz and Cantwell wrote, “The size of the transaction and the scope of the waivers presented are precisely the type of novel and consequential issues that Commission precedent, as well as basic principles of administrative accountability to the American people, require to be decided by the full Commission.”

They also noted that because bureau-level decisions are not final orders, parties that are challenging a merger must first seek a review by the commission before going to the courts. Newsmax, DirecTV and a group of broadband and cable groups filed suit against the FCC in a federal appellate court in Washington.

Cruz and Cantwell wrote, “In a transaction of this scale, where integration proceeds quickly and unwinding becomes impractical, delay in judicial review can insulate the decision from meaningful challenge. That outcome is difficult to reconcile with the Commission’s obligation to ensure transparency and accountability in major actions.”

The FCC’s Media Bureau announced its approval less than a day after a group of states and DirecTV filed lawsuits challenging the merger on antitrust grounds. In February, Carr already had signaled than he favored the transaction, shortly after Donald Trump endorsed the merger in a social media post.

Shares of Nexstar continued to fall on Tuesday, after dropping by 13% on Monday.

Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC, posted a copy of the senators’ letter on X, and wrote, “There’s bipartisan agreement that the Nexstar-Tegna merger—the largest local broadcast TV transaction in history—should’ve been voted by the full Commission, not approved behind closed doors to help billionaire buddies bypass the law.”

Bloomberg first reported on the senators’ letter.