{"id":7989590,"date":"2026-03-30T11:10:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=7989590"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:11:09","slug":"nexstar-tegna-merger-paused-stock-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/industry-news\/deals-ma\/nexstar-tegna-merger-paused-stock-reaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Nexstar Stock Falls Over 8% After Judge Pauses Tegna Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Shares of Nexstar fell over 8% during Monday’s trading session after a judge put its $6.2 billion merger with rival Tegna on pause<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move comes as DirecTV and state attorneys general are suing to block the merger, arguing that it would violate antitrust laws by driving up costs for consumers, reduce competition and increase the frequency and duration of blackouts of key local teams and network programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley granted DirecTV’s request for the deal to be paused, noting that Nexstar and Tegna \u201cdo not contest this merger will increase Nexstar\u2019s bargaining leverage to extract higher fees.\u201d The judge also stated that he was convinced by DirecTV\u2019s \u201cassertion that despite defendants\u2019 claim the rise of streaming services and \u2018cord-cutting\u2019 will create a downward pressure on retransmission rates, Nexstar\u2019s CEO Perry Sook recently told investors the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge set an April 7 hearing to decide whether the deal violates antitrust law and will require a preliminary injunction to stop it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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