As reported by Deadline, multiple media interests have joined forces in opposition to the FCC’s unorthodox approval of the Nexstar-Tegna merger 15 minutes after the deal was closed in a rushed after-hours move. The lawsuit looks to frame the FCC approval as a secretive process that sets a new precedent, instigated by President Trump himself.
Deadline confirms that the entities joining the lawsuit are comprised of Newsmax, multiple state cable and broadband associations, as well as DirecTV, which has previously filed its own lawsuit. The complaints revolve around three main pillars, which all involve the President.
The first problem the complainants have relates back to a Truth Social post, reported by TVTechnology, in which the President says (referring to the Tegna-Nextel merger), “GET THIS DEAL DONE!” They argue that this ‘directive’ was used to circumvent the FCC’s traditional review process, turbocharging the merger in record time.
Another issue the coalition has with the process, according to CBS News, is that it violates the FCC’s own standing regulation, the National Television Ownership Cap. This cap limits broadcast owners from controlling television stations that reach more than 39 percent of total viewers. As is, the merger would give the new conglomerate access to around 80 percent of American households.
The President claims that allowing this deal to go through, even though it breaks the standing ownership cap rule, is not only imperative to fighting the ‘woke’ media empire, but it’s also the only way for traditional media to survive the streaming wars. President Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social: “Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level.” In a clear rebuttal to the administration’s sentiments, DirecTV released a statement in which they claim, “Nexstar’s purpose in acquiring Tegna is to drive up the price it can extract from DirecTV and other distributors, which will force them to raise prices to their subscribers.”
Yet another issue cited by the complainants is the unusual speed at which the merger was approved. They wish for the President to explain himself as to why it was so rushed and secretive. They may be looking to prove that the FCC skipped the public vote and 180-day review, just so the President could continue his winning streak.
Oddly enough, a major party to the lawsuit, Newsmax, is helmed by CEO Chris Ruddy, and a longtime friend of President Trump. Although Newsmax is often labeled as right-leaning and in the fight against ‘woke’ media, they have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to this merger. According to Light Reading, Ruddy went on record to voice his opposition with a bit of a backhanded compliment: “We think the President makes great decisions when he’s fully informed, but in this case, he was badly advised by Chairman Carr, and the FCC broke the law to please him.” Newsmax may be riled up by the thought that Nexstar-owned NewsNation, also a conservative-leaning news station, will swallow up other independent conservative news stations such as itself.