Nexstar-Tribune Merger Threatens Our Public Discourse

Remember when Sinclair Broadcasting Group tried to buy Tribune Media? That merger would have allowed Sinclair to reach 72 percent of US households -- far, far above the Federal Communications Commission’s 39 percent audience cap. Fortunately for consumers, Tribune backed out of the deal after the FCC signaled it was unwilling to approve the transaction as structured. Now another giant broadcaster is trying to buy Tribune Media. It’s the second largest local television owner in the country (after Sinclair): Nexstar Media. Chances are, despite Nexstar’s size and importance in the broadcasting world, you’ve never heard of them. Even though Nexstar keeps a lower profile than Sinclair, this merger poses a lot of the same problems as the abandoned Sinclair-Tribune pairing.

Even if the FCC won’t end the UHF discount loophole, it could still block the merger on public interest grounds because of the importance of diversity, competition, and local control to television broadcasting in particular. It could also block the merger on pure antitrust grounds, if it finds that the merger would substantially lessen competition. Public Knowledge will continue to monitor the proposed merger between Nexstar and Tribune as more information becomes available. The FCC has not yet opened a docket for this merger, but when they do, you can help by submitting comments explaining your concerns. Continue to follow us for updates.