Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna must be approved to stave off the “five-alarm fire” of competition from streaming and tech companies, Nexstar and Tegna said in a joint reply filing posted in docket 25-331 Friday. The FCC has authority to waive the national cap, they said, while all the entities objecting to the deal -- including Newsmax, Free Press and EchoStar -- lack standing to participate in the proceeding (see 2601020025).
Two bar complaints against FCC Chairman Brendan Carr have been denied, according to letters from the Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC) of Maryland and the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
A 2020 settlement with DOJ connected to the Nexstar/Tribune deal is unlikely to have much effect on the outcome of Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna, broadcast and antitrust attorneys told us.
CPB's board of directors voted to dissolve the 58-year-old organization, according to a news release Monday. Its death is intended to protect public broadcasters, said CPB President Patricia Harrison in the release. “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”
FCC approval of Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna would violate the law, lead to nationwide TV blackouts, increase ad and retrans prices, damage local journalism and cause a wave of anticompetitive media consolidation, said petitions to deny the deal filed in docket 25-331 by Wednesday’s deadline.
The FCC has limited authority to regulate broadcast networks, and regulatory intervention could destroy the network/affiliate business model, said Fox, Disney, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global in reply filings posted Tuesday in docket 25-322.
The FCC should take “immediate action” to review network/affiliate contracts and investigate whether the big four networks’ practice of negotiating with virtual MVPDs gives them “de facto control” of local TV stations, said affiliate station owner groups in a joint filing posted Monday in docket 25-322. “Given the state of this relationship, immediate action is necessary so that local broadcast stations can continue to serve local communities with critical news and information,” they said.
Conservatives such as Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have suggested eliminating the FCC’s public interest authority (see 2512170070) as a way to keep it from pressuring broadcasters over their content, but public interest attorneys and academics said doing so would also strip the agency of most of its power.
The initial round of 2022 quadrennial review comments last week included Fox seeking elimination of the dual network rule and MVPDs advocating for the FCC to adopt DOJ’s market definitions for broadcasting, as well as the expected calls from broadcast station owners to eliminate ownership limits. Opponents of deregulation in docket 22-459 included conservative entities Newsmax and CPAC, along with a coalition of public interest groups, independent film trade groups and academics arguing that the FCC must study broadcast markets.
The FCC is expected to unanimously approve an order at its open meeting Thursday that would update a number of low-power TV and translator rules, industry and FCC officials told us. The final item is expected to change little from the draft version, which updates and clarifies agency policies on station relocation, channel sharing, alerting and other matters. “In light of changes within the broadcast industry and LPTV Service over the last forty years, we adopt changes to our rules to ensure that the LPTV Service continues to flourish and serve the public interest long into the future,” the draft says.