Attorney General Raoul wins court order halting Nexstar TEGNA merger pending review

CHICAGO – Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said a federal court has granted a preliminary injunction stopping the merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc. while litigation continues. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued the order after Raoul and a coalition of eight attorneys general sought to block the deal following approval by federal regulators. The court previously issued a temporary restraining order in a related case brought by DIRECTV and later combined the cases. Raoul said the merger would concentrate control of broadcast television, reduce competition in local news, and threaten jobs in newsrooms. The states filed suit in March to block the deal, which would combine two of the largest television station groups in the country and reach about 80 percent of U.S. television households. In Illinois, Nexstar and Tegna already operate multiple major network affiliates across the Quad Cities, St. Louis, and Chicago markets, raising concerns among the states about further consolidation and its impact on local journalism.