According to Deadline, Nexstar has decided to retaliate against the lawsuit filed by DirecTV and attorneys general of several states who are aiming to derail the local TV giant’s $6.2 billion merger with rival Tegna.
Deadline reports that in a request for an expedited appeal filed with the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday evening, the company called a federal judge’s preliminary injunction in April that froze the deal a “straitjacket” that “risks profound harms” to Tegna. This legal process is unfolding for several months, locking Tegna stations into an outdated structure that was already under substantial strain, making it more likely that Tegna will not survive while waiting for the transaction to be vindicated.”
Nexstar derided the U.S. District Court’s ruling as a massive overreach, Deadline Reports. It affects “stations, operations, and corporate functions that have nothing to do with plaintiffs’ alleged harms,” the brief said. “This Court should narrow the preliminary injunction to match the law and what plaintiffs actually allege. Plaintiffs fell far short of their burden for the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction of any kind, let alone one this sweeping.”
Via Deadline at trial, Nexstar goes on to assert, “the full evidentiary record will defeat plaintiffs’ claims. But Defendants cannot wait for trial to challenge the scope of the injunction. With each passing day, the injunction’s unnecessary breadth inflicts unrecoverable harm. Worse still, it degrades the very assets it purports to protect.”
As noted in the Deadline, earlier this year, Nexstar announced the merger’s close in March, mere minutes after the FCC approved it. The merger of the two companies was underway until it was abruptly halted when a federal judge issued an injunction and issued a “hold-separate” order. Nexstar has issued an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, but in the most recent court filing has asked the appellate court to expedite the suit and begin oral arguments as soon as August.
Deadline reports that the lawsuit against Nexstar argues that the deal would be anticompetitive by giving the company more power in negotiations. Nexstar argues that these claims the court’s restrictions are unfair and affect unrelated business operations. The merger is significant because it would generate a higher broadcaster reaching 80% of U.S. households, which is above the current 39% ownership cap. While this is the case the Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez and other lawmakers have insisted that only Congress has the power to adjust the rule.