A day after Nexstar said that it had closed its deal to buy Tegna, creating a broadcasting giant, California and seven other states filed an emergency motion to stop it.
The motion for a temporary restraining order was filed Friday in Sacramento, seeking court action to halt integration and consolidation of the two companies.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the other AGs filed suit to block the merger Wednesday, but were not seeking a TRO or a preliminary injunction.
But that strategy changed after the FCC and the Justice Department gave the greenlight to the transactions later on Thursday, quickly followed by Nexstar’s announcement that they had closed the transaction.
Bonta said in a statement, “This merger is illegal, plain and simple, running contrary to federal antitrust laws that protect consumers. Nexstar/Tegna is not a done deal. I will not let these corporate behemoths merge without a fight.”
“Defendants’ decision to close despite multiple pending lawsuits, 2 their non-responsiveness to counsel’s inquiries, and their rush to consummate the Transaction raise the troubling specter that Defendants may be barreling forward with this transaction to frustrate effective judicial review,” the states said in their motion.
A spokesperson for Tegna did not immediately return a request for comment.
The state attorneys general claim that the merger will lead to higher prices, as the increased leverage of the company will force cable and satellite distributors to pay more to carry their channels. Those prices, according to the lawsuit, will be passed on to consumers.
The combined company will own or operate 259 stations across the country, including 31 where the companies each own at least one broadcast outlet.
In the motion, the attorneys general point out the swift nature of the regulatory approvals, noting that the Justice Department closed its investigation before the end of a statutory waiting period. The FCC approved the deal after less than four months of the start of its review, and its Media Bureau waived compliance with an ownership rule that limits any one company from amassing stations that reach more than 39% of the country. The Nexstar-Tegna combination will reach 54.5%, a figure that measures just half of the reach of any UHF stations.
The attorneys general wrote, “Questions about whether the FCC has legal authority to change or waive that cap have been the subject of recent public debate and congressional oversight. The FCC’s decision is likely subject to legal challenge in the immediate future.” They also noted that President Donald Trump endorsed the transaction in February, and FCC chairman Brendan Carr agreed with him.
According to the emergency motion, Bonta’s office reached out to Nexstar attorneys on March 10 and March 11 to reach a timing agreement, in which the companies would not complete the transaction until California finished its investigation. Nexstar attorneys never followed up then, nor did they to another request on March 18, just before the lawsuit was filed. On Friday morning, when Bonta’s office informed them of plans to seek a temporary restraining order, the Nexstar attorneys responded that the “relief sought in your Complaint is no longer available” because the transaction had closed.
Among other things, the attorneys general lawsuit identifies 13 markets where Nexstar and Tegna each have top four stations, with their combinations drawing well over 30% market share based on retransmission revenues.