Nexstar Media Group to acquire TEGNA: How will it affect you?

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Nexstar Media Group Inc. and TEGNA Inc. announced Monday morning that they are set to enter a definitive agreement for Nexstar to acquire TEGNA in a cash transaction valued at $6.2 billion.

In a press release issued on Aug. 19, Nexstar stated that, “following completion of the transaction, the combined entity will be a leading local media company, well-positioned to compete in today’s fragmented and rapidly evolving marketplace.”

“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,” Perry A. Sook, Nexstar’s chairman and chief executive officer, said. “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.”

Nexstar said the new company will “be better able to serve communities by ensuring the long-term vitality of local news and programming from trusted local sources and preserving the diversity of local voice and opinion” while also being able “to provide advertisers with an even greater variety of competitive local and national broadcast and digital advertising solutions to serve brands and consumers more effectively.”

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

Nexstar is one of the United States’ largest local television broadcasting groups, with “more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 220 million people,” as per the Nexstar website.

Nexstar-affiliated stations in Texas include San Angelo’s KLST and KSAN as well as Abilene’s KTAB and KRBC. Fox West Texas, a TEGNA-affiliated station operating under the call letters KIDY, provides coverage in San Angelo and Abilene.

“We believe this deal will strengthen our ability to challenge the dominance of Big Tech and legacy Big Media, which is necessary to helping preserve alternatives that preserving localism, especially local journalism that is unbiased and accurate, presented by folks you know; committed to delivering the full range of perspectives and opinions that reflect our community,” Albert Gutierrez, vice-president and general manager of KLST, KSAN, KTAB and KRBC said.