FCC Grants Approval of Nexstar-Tribune Merger

The Federal Communications Commission today approved the sale of Tribune Media Company broadcast stations to Nexstar Media Group, Inc. by a 3-2 vote. In connection with this transaction, the Commission also approved the divestiture to Scripps Broadcast Holdings, LLC; TEGNA Broadcast Holdings, LLC; and CCB License, LLC of broadcast stations in certain markets necessary for Nexstar to come into compliance with the Commission’s local and national television ownership rules. In the Indianapolis and Norfolk markets, the Commission found that the transfer of preexisting combinations of two top-four ranked broadcast television stations to Nexstar and Scripps, respectively, would be in the public interest.

The Commission found that the proposed merger would provide several public interest benefits to viewers of current Tribune and Nexstar stations. For example, viewers would benefit from their local stations having increased access to Nexstar’s Washington, DC, news bureau and state news bureaus. Additionally, Nexstar demonstrated that it would invest savings resulting from the merger into its stations, including investments in ATSC 3.0, the next-generation television broadcast standard.