Eight state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit on Monday to block Nexstar Media Group's $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna Inc., arguing the deal would create an illegally dominant broadcast station group [1]. The coalition, led by California and New York, alleges the merger violates the Clayton Antitrust Act by concentrating too many local TV stations under one owner.

The lawsuit is a rare state-level intervention in broadcast media consolidation. The FCC had already approved the merger in February, and the DOJ declined to challenge it. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the combined entity would own or operate more than 300 stations nationwide, giving Nexstar outsized leverage over advertisers and cable distributors [2].

"This deal would put more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, harming local communities that depend on independent news coverage," James said in a statement [2]. The eight states — California, New York, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Massachusetts — filed in the Southern District of New York.

Nexstar called the lawsuit "without merit" and said the transaction had cleared all required federal regulatory reviews. Tegna's stock dropped 4.2% in after-hours trading on the news [1]. The companies had expected to close the deal in April.

The case tests whether state attorneys general can block media mergers that federal regulators have approved — a dynamic that could reshape how broadcast consolidation is scrutinized going forward.

-- MAYA CALLOWAY, New York