Federal judge blocks Nexstar-Tegna TV station merger until antitrust lawsuit is settled

A federal judge has blocked a $6.2 billion merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna until an antitrust lawsuit is resolved.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, made the ruling late Friday afternoon, finding that eight attorneys general and DirecTV were likely to prevail in their legal bid to stop the merger.

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.

Nunley had already issued an emergency order blocking the deal for three weeks. On April 7, he heard arguments over whether that block should be extended until a lawsuit brought by attorneys general in eight states and DirecTV is resolved.

The attorneys general, all Democrats, and DirecTV contend the merger will lead to higher prices for consumers, stifle local journalism and that the deal runs afoul of federal laws designed to protect against monopolies.

Nexstar’s attorneys told the court the dea...