President Donald Trump on Feb. 7 praised Nexstar Media Group’s planned multi-billion-dollar purchase of rival broadcast giant Tegna less than a year after the acquisition was announced.
“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks. Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar–Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level,” Trump wrote on social media.
“Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future. GET THAT DEAL DONE!”
Nexstar first announced the $6.2 billion acquisition, which requires regulatory approval, in August 2025. Both companies oversee large holdings across local broadcast media. Nexstar’s reach spans more than 200 owned and partner stations in 116 markets throughout the country. It also runs The CW and NewsNation networks and owns The Hill, a U.S. political newspaper and website.
Trump had previously opposed the purchase, in November 2025, suggesting he “would not be happy” because the acquisition would “allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge.’”
“ABC & NBC, in particular, are a disaster - A VIRTUAL ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY. They should be viewed as an illegal campaign to the Radical Left,” Trump wrote at the time. “NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER!”
However, Nexstar and Tegna operate independently from large broadcast networks such as NBC and ABC.
Notably, in September 2025, Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group faced criticism for suspending Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC-broadcast late-night talk show for roughly a week after the host made controversial comments about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Nexstar is pursuing the acquisition during a time when the Federal Communications Commission is vying to reform regulations that limit ownership of local television stations. Meanwhile, some courts have moved to strike down rules limiting how many top TV stations one company can own in a single market.
“The initiatives being pursued by the Trump administration offer local broadcasters the opportunity to expand reach, level the playing field, and compete more effectively with the Big Tech and legacy Big Media companies that have unchecked reach and vast financial resources,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said in a statement when the deal was announced.
Some in the media landscape have opposed the deal, including Newsmax.
“The Nexstar deal means dangerous consolidation that will limit competition, harm conservative voices and dramatically increase consumer cable bills,” Newsmax stated. “President Trump was right in November when he called for smaller networks and for keeping TV ownership caps to limit massive broadcast consolidation.”
Democratic lawmakers have also criticized the deal, including Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who penned a joint statement on Feb. 7 calling the acquisition a violation of federal law and of the national cap on broadcast ownership.
They also suggested it would give “corporate owners greater control over programming and the framing of local news coverage.”
The lawmakers wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission in October 2025, urging Chairman Brendan Carr to “put community interest over corporate profit and reject the Nexstar Media-Tegna merger.”
“The national broadcast ownership cap promotes competition and incentivizes stations to maintain local newsroom activity and retain local journalism jobs,” they wrote. “Without it, our media coverage will become more nationalized and local coverage will decrease.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of the Tegna broadcasting company in two instances. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
