Not only did Nexstar hit back at a lawsuit filed by DirecTV and multiple state attorneys general that sought to disrupt its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, the company also slammed the injunction pausing the deal.
The multimedia conglomerate requested an expedited appeal with the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday evening, where Nexstar ripped the federal judge’s preliminary injunction freezing the merger. Specifically, in the document, the company railed against the injunction as a “straightjacket” that risked “profound harms” to Tegna. The request also suggested that a lengthy legal fight “locks Tegna stations into an outdated structure that was already under substantial strain, making it more likely Tegna will not survive while waiting for the transaction to be vindicated.”
Additionally, Nexstar, in a companion brief filed alongside the request, blasted the U.S. District Court’s decision as a blatant overstep, adding that it impacts “stations, operations and corporate functions that have nothing to do with plaintiffs’ alleged harms.”
“This Court should narrow the preliminary injunction to match the law and what plaintiffs actually allege,” it stated. “Plaintiffs fell far short of their burden for the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction of any kind, let alone one this sweeping.”
Nexstar also claimed that during the trial “the full evidentiary record will defeat plaintiffs’ claims,” adding that “defendants cannot wait for trial to challenge the scope of the injunction. With each passing day, the injunction’s unnecessary breadth inflicts unrecoverable harm. Worse still, it degrades the very assets it purports to protect.”
“The plaintiffs’ claims reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the modern media landscape in which companies like Nexstar and TEGNA are dwarfed by Big Tech, which has unlimited reach, bottomless resources, and unchecked influence,” a spokesperson for Nexstar told TheWrap on Wednesday. “We’re looking forward to presenting our case at trial and exposing just how weak, cynical, and misguided these claims are. In the meantime, our appeal is focused on narrowing an overly broad preliminary injunction that goes far beyond the harms plaintiffs are alleging, hindering broadcasters’ ability to compete, and creating further uncertainty for an industry already under significant pressure.”
They continued: “At a moment when the future of local journalism is at stake, keeping broadcasters from achieving the scale needed to compete only serves to strengthen the dominance of Big Tech and accelerate the erosion of local news in the communities we serve.”
Nexstar’s filing came a month after U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley put the $6.2 billion merger on ice, in which he concluded that the deal would hinder competition by violating antitrust laws.
At the time, a Nexstar spokesperson said the company would appeal the decision, telling TheWrap, “This transaction closed more than four weeks ago following receipt of all required regulatory approvals from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nexstar Media Group now owns TEGNA and has taken steps consistent with the Court order that has been in effect.”
“For nearly thirty years, Nexstar has provided free over-the-air access to all its broadcast stations — local news, weather, and community-focused programming alongside major network programming,” the statement continued. “This pro- competitive transaction will make local stations stronger and support continued investment in local journalism and fact-based news.”
Under the original terms of the deal, Nexstar would have had 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing a reach of 80% of U.S. television households, adding Big-4 affiliate stations in Phoenix, Atlanta, Toledo and Portland. The combined company would have also had stations in nine of the top 10 markets, and in 41 of the top 50.
In order to close the deal, Nexstar agreed to divest six stations across six different DMAs and made commitments to affordability and localism.
Its approval was also subject to raising or eliminating the 39% national TV ownership cap put in place by Congress in 2004 to protect viewpoint diversity, as well as prevent monopolization. However, instead of modifying the ownership rules, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr granted the companies a waiver and defended that the decision would empower broadcast TV stations and foster local journalism.
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