Irving-based Nexstar Media Group—which owns or manages over 200 TV stations across the U.S. as well as The CW and NewsNation—is making a major move to expand its local TV predominance nationwide, by acquiring Virginia-based TEGNA in a $6.2 billion deal.

TEGNA (NYSE: TGNA) owns 64 stations in 51 markets—including WFAA in Dallas—and reaches around 39% of all TV households. The proposed merger would combine America’s first- and fourth-highest-revenue TV station conglomerates—but first it must be approved by the FCC. 

Under the deal, Nexstar (Nasdaq: NXST) said it will acquire all outstanding shares of TEGNA for $22.00 per share in a cash transaction valued at $6.2 billion, inclusive of TEGNA’s net debt and estimated transaction fees and expenses.

Nexstar Chairman and CEO Perry Sook said initiatives being pursued by the Trump administration “offer local broadcasters the opportunity to expand reach, level the playing field, and compete more effectively with the Big Tech and legacy Big Media companies that have unchecked reach and vast financial resources.”

“We believe TEGNA represents the best option for Nexstar to act on this opportunity,” Sook added in a statement. “TEGNA is a premier operator with high-quality local television stations primarily in the top 75 DMAs. We and TEGNA are similarly dedicated to providing communities of all sizes with the best programming and fact-based local journalism along with innovative digital products and marketing solutions for local viewers and advertisers. The transaction will increase Nexstar’s reach through the expansion of our presence in important DMAs such as Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, and Minneapolis, as well as enhance our local presence, enabling us to continue to provide the core local news and programming that is in the public’s interest.”

TEGNA CEO Mike Steib said his company is “thrilled to have found a partner in Nexstar that will enable TEGNA’s stations to continue doing what we do best: creating outstanding and impactful local content coupled with the delivery of indispensable digital products to the communities we serve around the country.”

“Nexstar and TEGNA both share a rich heritage of commitment to journalistic excellence and technological advancements,” Steib added. “Together, we’ll expand news coverage to serve more communities, across more screens, and ultimately secure the future of local news for generations to come.”

Seeking to own 265 TV stations in 44 states

If the deal closes, Nexstar said that it and its partners will have 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia and 132 of the country’s 210 television DMAs. The combined company would have stations in “9 of the top 10 DMAs, 41 of the top 50 DMAs, 62 of the top 75 DMAs and 82 of the top 100 DMAs, covering, in total, 80% of U.S. television households,” Nexstar said.

“At TEGNA, we share Nexstar’s commitment to local broadcasting, exemplified by numerous investments and initiatives, industry journalism awards, and the significant expansion of our local news content,” TEGNA Chairman Howard Elias said in a statement. “This transaction, which will provide premium near-term value to TEGNA shareholders, comes at a time of rapid change in our industry and reflects the fact that policymakers of all perspectives are calling for regulations governing our industry to be modernized. This transaction with Nexstar will further solidify the critical role our stations serve in our communities, preserve their trust, and be better able to compete in today’s highly fragmented media environment.”

The deal would also mean multiple local TV stations within individual markets will be owned by one company. Nexstar’s station footprint overlaps with TEGNA in 35 of TEGNA’s 51 DMAs, the companies noted, “providing improved synergy potential in these markets.”

The  transaction is slated to close by the second half of 2026, the companies said.

BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Wiley Rein LLP, and Morrison Foerster are acting as legal counsel to Nexstar. Allen & Company LLC is acting as financial advisor to TEGNA and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Covington & Burling LLP are acting as its legal counsel.