Attorney General Jeff Jackson Files Emergency Motion After Nexstar Rushes to Close TV Merger Just Hours After States Sue to Block It

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 20, 2026
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USDOJ reportedly dropped its investigation, FCC waived its rules, and Nexstar closed the deal within 24 hours of the lawsuit being filed; AG now asks court to freeze merger to give court time to hear case

RALEIGH - Attorney General Jeff Jackson has filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order after Nexstar raced to close its $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna just hours after eight state attorneys general sued to block the deal.

On Wednesday evening, March 18, the states filed a federal lawsuit alleging the merger violates antitrust law. The very next day, news came out that U.S. Department of Justice dropped its antitrust investigation. Within hours, the FCC - without a vote of the full Commission - waived its rules that have capped TV station ownership at 39% of American households for decades. Nearly simultaneously, Nexstar announced it had closed the deal. The company's CEO publicly thanked FCC Chairman Brendan Carr by name.

"Less than 24 hours after we filed a lawsuit to block this merger, it was reported that the USDOJ dropped its investigation and the FCC waived its own rules, which helped Nexstar close this deal before the court could stop them," said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "It was an obvious end run around the court so they can raise TV prices on millions of families in North Carolina. We're filing an emergency motion to freeze this merger in its tracks."

The emergency motion asks the court to prevent Nexstar from integrating Tegna's stations into its operations while the lawsuit moves forward.

If the emergency motion is successful, Tegna stations would continue to operate independently. Nexstar could not consolidate newsrooms or lay off Tegna news staff. Tegna's contracts with cable and satellite providers would remain separate, and the court would retain the ability to order effective relief if the states win.

If the court does not grant the emergency motion, Nexstar can immediately begin merging the operations of stations that have served North Carolina communities independently for decades:

In Charlotte: WCNC (NBC) and WJZY (Queen City News/FOX 46) would be run by the same company.

In Greensboro / High Point / Winston-Salem: WFMY (CBS 2) and WGHP (FOX 8) would be run by the same company.

In Norfolk / Newport News (including 8 NC counties): WVEC (ABC 13), WAVY (NBC 10), and WVBT (FOX) would all be under one roof.

The merger creates the largest TV station owner in American history, eliminates head-to-head competition in over 30 markets, and exceeds every legal threshold for presumptive illegality under the Clayton Act.

Federal courts have the authority to order companies to hold acquired assets separate, and even to unwind completed mergers, when the evidence shows the deal substantially lessens competition. DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite TV provider, filed its own federal lawsuit the same day seeking to block the same merger on the same antitrust grounds. They have also filed their own emergency request to stop the merger.

Attorney General Jackson filed the original lawsuit on March 18, 2026, alongside the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Virginia. The emergency TRO motion was filed today.

A copy of the emergency motion is available here.

A copy of the original complaint is available here.

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