Judge extends restraining order on $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger

A federal judge has extended an emergency restraining order on the $6.2 billion merger between local TV giants Nexstar and Tegna for one week.

Eight state attorneys general and DirecTV have sued to stop the merger, arguing it would raise how much you pay for TV and lead to fewer local newsrooms across the country.

The deal, announced last year and approved by the Federal Communications Commission, would create a company that owns 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, most of them local affiliates of one of the “Big Four” national networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

The merger needed the approval of the Republican Trump administration’s FCC because the government had to waive rules limiting how many local stations one company can own.