Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546062
Consolidation Nation Nexstar-TEGNA Acquisition Points to Greater Issues for Broadcasters O n March 19, television broadcast company Nexstar Media Group finalized its acquisition of its then-rival TEGNA Inc., with an unexpected same-day approval from the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice. At the time of the acquisition's official announcement in August 2025, the deal was valued at $6.2 billion, with Nexstar to receive 64 stations from TEGNA, including multiple stations across 35 individual markets, giving it duopoly or triopoly status in 44 states and Washington, D.C. As it stands, if the transaction closes, 80% of household audiences in the United States would get their news from a Nexstar-owned station. For those concerned about the current state of broadcast journalism, continued consolidation is deeply unsettling. The impact not only carries the potential to cause irreparable harm to daily newsroom operations, but to the integrity of the free press itself. For audiences in individual markets, fewer diverse voices and localized stories are cause for worry. Will audiences continue to receive information about the issues that directly affect their local area? Who will tell those stories? How will they be told — and from whose perspective? Higher Corporate Profits, Fewer Job Opportunities Business practices such as acquisitions and mergers are not new. But the Nexstar-TEGNA acquisition raises alarm bells for many employed in the broadcasting industry, as the deal reflects both the company's decade-long practice of buying out mid-sized and smaller competitors — in 2017, Nexstar acquired 71 stations from Media General Inc., and in 2019, 42 stations from Tribune Media — as well its ongoing efforts to consolidate newsrooms for greater profits. For SAG-AFTRA broadcast stations across the country, this has meant significant staffing changes, including layoffs. On Feb. 25, prior to the deal's completion, the company terminated several SAG-AFTRA employees at WGN-TV in Chicago, KTLA in Los Angeles and WPIX in New York. Layoffs also occurred in different local stations across the country. In response, SAG-AFTRA released a statement criticizing the action as a "serious blow" to affected union workers and community members, with SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin saying, "These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the company to prioritize the public interest and the professionals who serve it." Layoffs Affect Everyone The effects of these cost-saving measures from Nexstar and other employers go beyond who sits in the anchor's chair. According to SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Broadcasters, Bob Butler, layoffs impact on-air talent due to fewer employed broadcasters. "When a merged company now owns two stations in the same market, it raises [the] possibility [of] leaving the remaining employees with more work." Layoffs often impact more experienced journalists, leaving the remaining employees to handle an increased workload. New employees eventually hired to replace former employees — and often at lower salaries — find themselves performing multiple duties, resulting in inequitable work-life balances, greater work-related stress and the loss of valuable resources. Fair-Dealing With Employees The situation is compounded by the fact the Nexstar-TEGNA acquisition comes at a time when SAG-AFTRA has been in active negotiation with Nexstar stations across the country. As SAG-AFTRA magazine reported in its spring 2026 issue, coinciding with layoffs of SAG-AFTRA members are increased efforts from the broadcast company to gut severance pay and other contract provisions ranging from fair wages to field safety. The boilerplate language Nexstar includes in its personal employment contracts is also some of the most restrictive in television broadcasting. Employees are regularly required to sign multiyear employment contracts that prevent them from leaving and seeking employment elsewhere; meanwhile, the employer maintains the right to terminate employment with a rolling 60-day notice provision. For employees, this provision prevents them from marketing their services elsewhere during the term but allows the Nexstar-owned station to give the 60-day termination notice at any time during the contract. Additionally, Nexstar includes liquidated damages clauses in its contracts that require employees to pay the company thousands of dollars to be released from their contracts. Most recently, the company introduced language that requires an employee to accept any renewal offer of equal or greater value by default or have Nexstar consider them as having resigned from their position — essentially foreclosing any counteroffers or negotiations with employees. At a time when Nexstar is arguing the need for regulatory agencies to lift their regulations to allow the company to be competitive, it is imposing on its employees some of the most anticompetitive contract provisions. Fighting Back Although the ink has dried on the acquisition, public outcry still persists from SAG-AFTRA and other labor advocates, distributors such as DirecTV and other regulators. The day before the acquisition was approved, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with AGs from New York, Colorado, Oregon, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia, filed a lawsuit to block the decision, citing the deal as a violation of antitrust laws. In a separate April ruling, a federal judge blocked the merger via a preliminary injunction. At the time this story went to print, Nexstar had been unable to consolidate operations between itself and TEGNA or influence operations, programming or personnel decisions, including layoffs, in TEGNA-controlled newsrooms. Although Nexstar has expressed its intentions to appeal the decision, other state AGs from Massachusetts, Indiana, Kansas, Vermont and Pennsylvania have joined the California lawsuit. SAG-AFTRA continues to monitor the situation. sagaftra.org | Summer 2026 | SAG -AF TR A 35