Judge blocks Nexstar’s $6.2B Tegna deal over antitrust risk

The immediate effect is straightforward: Nexstar cannot move ahead with its $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna while the merger remains on hold. That keeps two large TV station group owners from combining under the current ruling. The broader signal is that antitrust scrutiny is still a real constraint on consolidation in local TV broadcasting, especially for large station portfolios. What to watch next is whether Nexstar and Tegna respond with an appeal or a revised transaction structure, since the article only says the deal is on hold after the judge’s ruling.