Nexstar Files Antitrust Suit Against Granite

Nexstar Broadcasting Group today filed a federal civil antitrust lawsuit in the Northern District of Indiana against Granite Broadcasting, alleging that Granite is monopolizing local TV sales in Fort Wayne (IN).

According to Nexstar, Granite will control the local ad sales in the market for stations affiliated with Fox, NBC, ABC, CW and MNT. The suit is an apparent reaction to Granite's WISE picking up the Fox affiliation in Fort Wayne after Nexstar was unable to come to terms with Fox on renewing the affiliation for its WFFT. WISE is named in the suit. WISE is an NBC affiliate that now carries MNT on a subchannel. Starting Aug. 1, it plans to split the time on the subchannel between MNT and Fox. Under an arrangement with Malara Broadcasting, WISE also operates ABC affiliate WPTA, which carries the CW on a subchannel. Nexstar’s lawsuit asserts that Granite’s actions violate Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 7 of the Clayton Act, and Indiana antitrust law.