Merger Poised to Shake Up Local TV News

America's biggest local TV owner just got a lot bigger, the Washington Post reports. Nexstar on Thursday said the Justice Department and the FCC signed off on its $6.2 billion purchase of rival Tegna, a move that will give it control of 265 stations and access to roughly 80% of US households. The deal advanced after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr unilaterally waived a long-standing rule that bars owners from reaching more than 39% of homes; Nexstar had been brushing that ceiling. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook hailed the merger as "essential to sustaining local journalism" and said the combined company will be better equipped to deliver local news and programming.

The approval is already under legal and political fire. Eight state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, sued earlier Thursday to block the merger, arguing it will cut competition and drive up costs for viewers, CNN reports. DirecTV filed a separate suit calling the deal anticompetitive. Anna Gomez, the FCC's lone Democrat, blasted the process as a closed-door sign-off that avoided a full commission vote, NBC News reports. Carr defended his waiver as consistent with agency authority and said Nexstar will still own fewer than 15% of TV stations; the FCC is requiring the company to sell six outlets in three states. Sook publicly thanked President Trump, who endorsed the merger last month.