DirecTV is suing to block Nexstar and Tegna’s local TV deal

DirecTV filed a federal antitrust suit Thursday claiming that Nexstar Media’s proposed $6.2 billion deal to buy rival Tegna violates federal antitrust laws — and would significantly harm consumers.

The pay-TV provider’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, follows a multi-state lawsuit filed in the same court by attorneys general from eight states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.

The DirecTV complaint alleges that the proposed merger between Nexstar and Tegna — which would combine two of the nation’s largest broadcast media groups — represents a concentration of broadcast media “without precedent” and will “irreparably increase consumer costs, reduce local competition, close local newsrooms and increase both the frequency and duration of blackouts of key local teams and network programming,” the company said.

A copy of DirecTV’s lawsuit is available at this link.

“DirecTV supports the states’ action and has determined that it is necessary to join these efforts to protect competition and consumers,” Michael Hartman, general counsel and chief external affairs officer for DirecTV, said in a statement. “We have consistently made clear that this merger is anti-competitive and not in the public interest, and if it goes through, will trigger a wave of similar consolidation.”

President Donald Trump supports the Nexstar-Tegna deal. Last month, Trump wrote in a social media post: “Get that deal!”, saying the TV channel group companies should be allowed to merge to eliminate “the fake news” from the “Fake News National TV Networks.” Shortly after, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr also responded on social media, writing, “Let’s get it done.” Carr has publicly expressed support for eliminating the FCC’s decades-old rule that bars TV station groups from owning outlets that reach more than 39% of U.S. households.

Nexstar currently owns 164 full-power local channels in 114 Nielsen-rated media markets, reaching approximately 70% of U.S. television households. The acquisition of Tegna’s 64 stations would expand that reach to more than 80% of households nationally, and it would also make Nexstar the owner of two or more ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates in more than 30 markets covering more than 25 million TV homes.

DirecTV noted that many of the Nexstar and Tegna stations are home to major professional or collegiate sports teams, “increasing Nexstar’s influence to impose blackouts during transportation disputes and raise fares.” A significant number of those are also state capitals, where reduced competition “would limit the diversity of local news coverage,” according to DirecTV.

The complaint also alleges that the merger is likely to “exacerbate the already sharp increase in retransmission consent fees charged by local station groups,” according to DirecTV. The pay-TV provider said retransmission fees have risen more than 5,000% over the past two decades, from about $214.6 million in 2006 to an estimated $11.9 billion in 2025.

“The acquisition would give Nexstar control of 228 broadcast stations reaching 80% of television households in 132 local markets and increase concentration in dozens of local markets by more than ten times the amount allegedly unlawful under antitrust laws,” DirecTV’s complaint said. “That massive increase in market power will allow Nexstar to raise prices and reduce the quantity, variety and quality of local news without worrying about losing sales to the competition.”

DirecTV’s lawsuit continues: “By acquiring Tegna’s competing channels, Nexstar will deprive distributors and consumers of the benefits of competition: lower prices and higher quality. Instead, Nexstar will be able to raise prices and lower quality. DirecTV and its subscribers will ultimately pay more for less. Antitrust laws prohibit acquisitions that significantly reduce competition, allowing buyers to charge more while offering less.”

DirecTV is wholly owned by TPG Capital, after AT&T closed the deal to sell its 70% stake in DirecTV to TPG in July 2025.

America’s Communications Association (ACA Connects), a trade group representing small and mid-sized TV and broadband providers, released a statement on the lawsuits challenging Tegna’s Nexstar acquisition. “We agree that the proposed deal between Nexstar and Tegna would give even more market power to the nation’s largest broadcast conglomerate – power that will historically be abused to drive up transportation costs and television bills for hardworking Americans,” Grant Spellmeyer, president and CEO of America’s Communications Association, said in a statement. “This further market distortion will hit smaller cable operators and their largely rural customer base the hardest.”

SEE ALSO: Eight states sue to block Nexstar’s $6.2 billion deal for Trump-backed Tegna: ‘This merger is illegal, plain and simple,’ says California AG