80% of TV Households. 1 Owner. Zero Competition.

A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general is fighting Nexstar’s takeover of Tegna, warning the deal would create the largest broadcast empire in America while cutting local news jobs and raising cable costs. The merger would put 80% of U.S. television households under one company’s control.

Predictably, another media giant wants to get even bigger. What happens when a handful of companies control most local news and broadcasting in America? We’re about to find out — unless state prosecutors can stop it first.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amended lawsuit alongside 12 other state attorneys general to block Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna Inc. The lawsuit has grown from 8 states to 13, now including both Republican and Democratic prosecutors who rarely agree on anything.

The merger would combine the nation’s largest and third-largest television station conglomerates into a single entity controlling 80% of U.S. television households. That’s not just big — it’s unprecedented consolidation in an industry that’s supposed to serve local communities.

What’s Already Happening (And It’s Not Good)

True to form, the warning signs started before the ink was dry. Reports detailed Nexstar’s firing of long-standing journalists in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York in the weeks leading up to the merger’s closing.

When media companies start cutting newsroom staff before they even complete their takeover, it’s a preview of what’s coming.

Here’s what the combined company would control in just 2 California markets:

• Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto area: FOX and ABC stations
• San Diego area: FOX and CBS stations

In California, the combined entity would own half of the Big Four (FOX, NBC, ABC, and CBS) network-affiliated stations in two major areas. When one company controls multiple major stations in the same area, they can coordinate programming decisions, advertising rates, and news coverage in ways that reduce competition and choice.

The math is simple: Fewer owners, higher prices, less local coverage.

The Incentive Problem Nobody Talks About

Media consolidation creates a perfect storm of misaligned incentives. When Nexstar owns more stations, they have more leverage to demand higher fees from cable and streaming companies for carrying their channels. Those companies pass those costs directly to subscribers through higher monthly bills.

Meanwhile, fewer owners means less competition for local advertising dollars and less pressure to invest in local news operations. Why fund investigative reporting in Fresno when you can run the same national content across 50 markets?

The attorneys general warn the deal is “expected to create the largest broadcast station group in the United States, putting more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, cutting local jobs, increasing cable bills, and significantly impacting the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.”

Why the Nexstar Tegna Merger Lawsuit Actually Matters

The legal challenge has already achieved something remarkable: It’s working. On April 17, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted a preliminary injunction halting the merger while litigation in this case proceeds.

The court has consolidated the states’ case with DIRECTV’s related case, creating a unified front against the merger. Defendants appealed the preliminary injunction to the Ninth Circuit, and Nexstar’s opening brief is due May 20, 2026.

The bipartisan coalition now includes attorneys general from:

• California (lead plaintiff)
• Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois
• Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts
• New York, North Carolina, Oregon
• Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia

When prosecutors from red and blue states agree that a corporate merger threatens consumers, that’s not partisan politics — that’s a genuine problem.

What You Can Do

1. Support the Nexstar Tegna merger lawsuit effort — Contact your state attorney general’s office to express support for challenging media consolidation. Many states are still deciding whether to join the coalition.
2. Monitor your cable bills — Document any sudden increases in your monthly fees, especially for local broadcast channels. This data helps prosecutors build their case.
3. Support local independent media — Seek out news sources that aren’t owned by major conglomerates. Local newspapers, independent radio stations, and community-funded journalism provide alternatives to corporate-controlled coverage.
4. Contact your representatives — Tell your senators and House members that media consolidation threatens local news and increases consumer costs. Congressional oversight can pressure regulators to scrutinize future mergers more carefully.

What’s Really at Stake

When one company controls what most Americans watch, it doesn’t just shape the market — it shapes the narrative. Local news becomes cheaper, thinner, and easier to control, while your cable bill quietly climbs.

The question isn’t whether consolidation changes media — it’s who benefits when it does. If Nexstar gets its way, the answer won’t be viewers.

If Nexstar or Tegna have affected your local news coverage or cable bills, report it to your state attorney general’s consumer protection division or tell us about it.

Written by: Companies Behaving Badly

The team behind it all.