President Trump has publicly endorsed Nexstar Media Group’s proposed acquisition of Tegna, blessing a deal that would reshape the U.S. broadcast television landscape and test long-standing federal ownership limits.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday, Trump urged regulators to approve the transaction, framing it as a way to counter what he called “Fake News National TV Networks.” Trump said the merger would increase competition and operate “at a higher and more sophisticated level,” adding in all caps: “GET THAT DEAL DONE!”
The roughly $6.2 billion deal would give Nexstar control of about 265 local television stations across 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching roughly 80% of U.S. television households. That would far exceed the current Federal Communications Commission ownership cap, which limits a single broadcaster to stations covering no more than 39% of the national audience.
The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the proposed merger as it simultaneously considers whether to revisit or lift the national ownership cap.
Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr echoed the former president’s support in a post on X, arguing that national networks owned by companies such as Comcast and Disney have accumulated excessive power and that larger station groups could provide meaningful competition.
“President Trump is exactly right,” Carr wrote Saturday. “The national networks like Comcast & Disney have amassed too much power. For years, they’ve been pushing this Hollywood & New York programming all over the country with no real checks. Let’s get it done and bring real competition to them.”
Trump’s endorsement marks a shift from comments he made last year expressing reservations about loosening ownership limits. Broadcasters including Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group, along with the National Association of Broadcasters, have long pressed regulators to modernize or remove the cap, arguing it no longer reflects current market realities.
The merger has also drawn organized opposition. Advocacy groups have run advertising campaigns in Washington both for and against the deal, with some messaging clearly aimed at Trump. One group, Keep News Local, has promoted the merger as a way to “defeat fake news for good.”
Conservative cable outlet Newsmax, led by Trump ally Chris Ruddy, has urged the FCC to reject the transaction. In a filing with regulators, Ruddy argued that the deal would concentrate too much power in one company, undermining localism and allowing Nexstar to raise retransmission fees. Nexstar has countered that the FCC lacks authority to waive the cap, contending that only Congress can change the limit.
The merger review unfolds amid broader scrutiny of broadcast power and editorial influence. Nexstar and Sinclair last year temporarily pulled ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following controversial remarks by the late-night host, a move later defended by Nexstar executives Perry Sook and Michael Biard as an exercise of editorial judgment.
