Nexstar Media Group CEO Perry Sook declared “bigger is better” on Sunday formally asking the FCC to waive its 39% national TV audience cap and approve Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna — a deal that would create the nation’s largest station owner with 265 stations reaching roughly 80% of U.S. TV households.
In a filing accompanying the license-transfer application, Sook argued that only massive scale will let local broadcasters compete with Google, Meta, and Amazon for advertising dollars and survive the ongoing collapse of linear TV revenue.
Nexstar and Tegna are seeking an immediate waivers while the FCC considers broader deregulation of ownership rules.
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| Perry Sook |
The companies hope to close in the second half of 2026.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has signaled support for loosening “outmoded” restrictions to help broadcasters fight Big Tech. However, Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez insists lifting the 39% cap requires an act of Congress, not agency fiat. Public-interest groups and rival Newsmax have vowed to fight the deal, warning of reduced media diversity and excessive concentration.
Nexstar has aggressively lobbied for the rule changes all year, organizing station managers to flood the FCC with supportive letters and briefly pulling ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! from some markets in September amid separate late-night programming scrutiny.
If approved, the transaction would mark Nexstar’s third multi-billion-dollar takeover in less than a decade, following Media General (2017) and Tribune Media (2019). Sook has indicated the company would continue pursuing acquisitions even after swallowing Tegna.