ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL FILES EMERGENCY MOTION TO STOP NEXSTAR/TEGNA MERGER

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL FILES EMERGENCY MOTION TO STOP NEXSTAR/TEGNA MERGER

March 20, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of eight attorneys general, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to stop the merger of Tegna Inc. (TEGNA) and Nexstar Media Group Inc. (Nexstar), after the broadcasting giants received merger approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). On Wednesday night, Attorney General Raoul filed a lawsuit to block the merger, a deal that is expected to create the largest broadcast station group in the United States, put more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, cut local jobs, increase cable bills, and significantly impact the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.

"I join my fellow attorneys general in asking the court to stop this illegal merger between Nexstar and TEGNA. If allowed to proceed, it would create a broadcast behemoth with control over an unprecedented share of broadcast television content, including local news and sports," Raoul said. "The effect would mean higher prices for Illinois consumers, less competition in local news and job cuts to newsrooms and on-air staff. Now more than ever, consumers should have access to the diverse ideas represented in independent newsrooms."

If allowed to go forward, this multibillion-dollar deal would combine the nation's largest and third-largest television-station conglomerates, creating a titan covering 80% of U.S. television households. In Illinois, these concerns are especially real. In the Quad Cities, Nexstar already controls the CBS- and FOX-affiliated stations while TEGNA owns the ABC-affiliated station. And in the St. Louis market - which includes 14 counties in southwestern Illinois - Nexstar already owns the FOX- and CW-affiliated stations, while TEGNA owns the NBC-affiliated station. In the Chicago market, Nexstar has already reportedly cut newsroom and on-air staff at WGN-TV in anticipation of the merger, raising serious concerns about what more consolidation could mean for local journalism across the state.

The Trump administration has shown states and consumers that it is more concerned with protecting corporate interests than in doing its job to defend the public and uphold consumer protection and antitrust laws that help make life more affordable for American families. Attorney General Raoul has responded by intervening when the Trump administration allegedly greenlit the Hewlett-Packard Enterprises/Juniper Networks merger not for the public interest, but to line the pockets of its friends, and by continuing to fight for a better deal for consumers after the DOJ settled days into the much-awaited Live Nation/Ticketmaster trial - an action promptly rejected by a bipartisan group of attorneys general.

Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit challenging the merger of Nexstar and TEGNA are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.