A federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order until April 17 to pause the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger, a deal that would create the largest broadcast station group in the U.S. reaching 80% of American households.
The seven-day extension gives U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley time to rule on a preliminary injunction that could block the deal outright. The decision follows a Tuesday hearing in Sacramento regarding a consolidated federal antitrust lawsuit filed by DirecTV and a group of eight state attorneys general, led by California and New York.
While extending the pause, Nunley modified the terms of the order after Nexstar and Tegna warned that full compliance would cause "immediate operational harm."
The plaintiffs seeking to block the merger allege that the proposed combination would "irreparably drive up consumer costs, reduce local competition, shutter local newsrooms and increase both frequency and duration of blackouts" for network programming and local sports.
The ongoing legal battle follows a rapid sequence of events last month, when the Nexstar-Tegna merger was approved by the FCC and DOJ, formally closed minutes later, and then immediately paused by Nunley's original March 27 restraining order.