Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a bipartisan group of 13 attorneys general in filing an amended complaint on May 1 against Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and TEGNA Inc., challenging their proposed $6.2 billion merger.
The deal between Nexstar and TEGNA would create the largest broadcast station group in the United States, consolidating more programming under fewer owners. According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, this could increase cable bills and affect how news is delivered across the country.
“As Massachusetts residents continue to grapple with the rising cost of living and higher monthly household expenses, they shouldn’t have to pay the price for an unlawful merger driving up subscription prices,” said Campbell. “I am proud to join a bipartisan coalition in challenging this unlawful merger, and I will continue to fight to uphold our state and federal antitrust laws.”
The amended complaint adds Massachusetts along with Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Vermont to a multistate lawsuit that aims to stop the merger. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California previously granted a preliminary injunction halting the deal while litigation continues; that case has been consolidated with another brought by DIRECTV. Defendants have appealed this decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
If approved, Nexstar would cover about 80% of U.S. television households through its stations—including three major ones serving different regions of Massachusetts: WWLP (NBC), WTEN (ABC), and WPRI (CBS). The Attorney General’s Office says that if completed, residents could see higher subscription prices from distributors like Comcast or DIRECTV.
In addition to her role in consumer protection cases such as this one, Campbell operates within a legal system overseen by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court—which acts as final authority on state law according to its official website. The court is recognized as the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere according to its official website, operating within the Commonwealth according to its official website.
The Supreme Judicial Court also engages in educational outreach about judicial processes according to its official website, regulates legal practice while supporting public access to opinions according to its official website, and provides advisory opinions on legal issues for government leaders according to its official website.
