Nexstar makes $6.2B offer for Tegna; deal could affect 2 Sacramento TV stations

Nexstar Media, owner of Fox 40 (KTXL), announced Monday it plans to acquire Tegna, the parent company of ABC 10 (KXTV), in a $6.2 billion cash deal that includes Tegna’s outstanding debt.

Under the agreement, Nexstar will pay $22 per share for Tegna, a 31% premium over the company’s 30-day average stock price. The transaction, if approved, would bring Nexstar’s station portfolio to 265 across 44 states and the District of Columbia, covering 80% of U.S. TV households. That includes two of the four major affiliates in the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto media market.

“Following completion of the transaction, the combined entity will be a leading local media company, well-positioned to compete in today’s fragmented and rapidly evolving marketplace,” the news release Monday said. “The new company will be better able to serve communities by ensuring the long-term vitality of local news and programming from trusted local sources and preserving the diversity of local voice and opinion. Nexstar will also be able to provide advertisers with an even greater variety of competitive local and national broadcast and digital advertising solutions to serve brands and consumers more effectively.”

The price is a 31% premium to Tegna’s 30-day average stock price.

Nexstar, based in Irving, Texas, is already the nation’s largest local TV operator, having previously acquired the Tribune Broadcasting chain. Tegna, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, was created in 2015 after Gannett split its broadcast and newspaper divisions.

The combined company would have 265 stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing 80% of U.S. TV households after the merger.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, but it must first clear scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates broadcast license transfers. Because Nexstar and Tegna both operate stations in more than 30 shared markets, the merger faces potential antitrust review.

Critics of media consolidation have already raised alarms. Public interest groups and some Democratic lawmakers argue that fewer owners reduce competition for both news coverage and advertising.

The proposed merger could create the Sacramento area’s third television duopoly — where one company controls two over-the-air stations in the same market — pending federal approval: KOVR, Ch. 13, and KMAX, Ch. 31, are owned by CBS; KCRA, Ch. 3, and KQCA, Ch. 58, are owned by Hearst.

The FCC limits local ownership to preserve viewpoint diversity. In markets with fewer than eight independently owned stations, owning two is generally prohibited unless waivers or divestitures are granted.

In Sacramento, ABC 10 typically edges Fox 40 in viewership, though both lag significantly behind NBC affiliate KCRA, the market’s longtime ratings leader. It remains unclear which Sacramento station, if any, might be sold if the FCC mandates divestment to comply with local market caps.

In an unusual political statement, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook praised President Donald Trump’s deregulatory stance on broadcasting.

“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 Big Tech,” Sook said. “We believe Tegna represents the best option for Nexstar to act on this opportunity.”

Nexstar, however, may not be the only suitor. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Sinclair has expressed interest in a merger with Tegna, potentially complicating Nexstar’s plans.

The Bee’s Daniel Hunt and UPI contributed to this story.

This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM.