Federal Communications Commission chair backs Nexstar, Tegna merger

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday he supports Nexstar's proposed $3.54 billion acquisition of Tegna that would make the combined entity the largest U.S. regional TV station operator.

"I support that transaction. We're going to be moving forward," FCC Chair Brendan Carr told reporters. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump publicly backed the merger.

He did not say if the deal would be referred at the staff level or by the full commission.

Acquiring Tegna TGNA.N would expand Nexstar's NXST.O presence covering 80% of TV households across key geographies and would require the FCC to lift the cap on station ownership.

Local media is grappling with falling revenue and subscriber losses because of the popularity of streaming services.

Current FCC rules limit a company from owning broadcast television stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. television audience households, but stations with weaker over-the-air signals can be partially counted against a company's ownership cap.

Carr has said he believed the cap could be revised by the commission without approval of Congress, though Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said she did not think it had that authority.

The National Association of Broadcasters has urged the FCC to repeal its 85-year-old national television ownership rule, saying the rule is unfair because Big Tech companies do not face the same restrictions.

Chris Ruddy, CEO of conservative cable news channel Newsmax NMAX.N, told Congress this month the station ownership cap "remains one of the last meaningful protections for competition and diversity in the broadcast and cable ecosystem."

Carr earlier this month said that national networks like Comcast CMCSA.O and Walt Disney DIS.N have amassed too much power and argued the Tegna-Nexstar deal will bring real competition.

Trump has frequently criticized news coverage by mainstream outlets and urged Carr to take action against broadcasters.