Nexstar-Tegna deal raises stakes for Indy TV news
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A massive broadcast merger with sweeping implications for Indianapolis returns to court Tuesday just days after a separate acquisition rocked one of the city's major newsrooms.
Why it matters: Indy residents could soon rely on just two companies—Nexstar-Tegna and Circle City Broadcasting — for most local TV news, raising concerns about competition and editorial independence.
Driving the news: Nexstar closed its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna on March 19, creating a broadcast giant with 259 stations reaching roughly 80% of U.S. households.
- In Indianapolis, the deal added Tegna's NBC affiliate, WTHR, to Nexstar's existing portfolio, which includes Fox 59 and CBS 4.
- The FCC waived its national ownership cap to approve the deal in a move criticized as happening behind closed doors and bypassing a full commission vote.
Yes, but: Eight states filed antitrust lawsuits to block it, arguing that Nexstar's leverage over retransmission fees will drive up consumer cable costs and trigger blackouts.
- In a separate lawsuit, DirecTV said the merger would be particularly harmful to more than 25 million homes in Indianapolis, Charlotte, Denver, St. Louis, Cleveland and Columbus.
- On March 27, U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley issued a 14-day temporary restraining order in the DirecTV case to stall the merger.
The latest: A federal court hearing today will determine whether that order is extended into a longer-term injunction that could freeze the merger.
- Analyst Blair Levin said the case could leave Nexstar in "deal purgatory" for years, potentially reaching the Supreme Court no earlier than 2028.
The other side: Nexstar argues that the merger "cannot be reversed" and that the restraining order "creates immediate operational harm."
Threat level: When the mega-merger was announced, former WTHR marketing producer Heath Benfield said it could lead to layoffs, noting that he saw it happen when Nexstar assumed control of its other Indy stations in its $4.1 billion 2019 acquisition of Tribune Media.
What we're watching: How an injunction could affect WTHR. As a condition of FCC approval, Nexstar-Tegna agreed to sell WTHR and five other stations within two years.
- Also uncertain is the future of WRTV, which fired dozens of staffers the same day Circle City Broadcasting closed its $83 million acquisition of the ABC affiliate from E.W. Scripps.
- Circle City Broadcasting also owns CW affiliate WISH-TV and MyNetwork TV affiliate WNDY-TV 23.
- Company CEO DuJuan McCoy has pledged to increase the total hours of local news coverage on WRTV going forward, but has not detailed how they'll do it with fewer reporters.
The bottom line: As media consolidation grows, Indianapolis' local TV news ecosystem is shrinking.