• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 2 hours ago

TV station groups -- especially dominant large ones -- will continue to thrive in years to come.

But they need to be aggressive in growing -- something the Trump Administration has increasingly hinted it will help with.

This continues to be good news for the largest owner of U.S. TV stations -- Nexstar Media Group.

Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion deal to buy TV station group Tegna will almost certainly get go ahead from the Trump Administration -- perhaps as early as next month.

The merger deal was announced in August 2025.

This will come with the lifting of the station ownership cap. The Federal Communication Commission prohibits a company from owning or controlling TV stations that in total reach more than 39% of all U.S. television homes.

“We expect FCC Chairman [Brendan] Carr to proceed with a cap elimination on the agenda in the next 1-3 months, potentially as soon as February, with enough rationalization and backing to counter the inevitable lawsuits that will follow,” writes Daniel Kurnos, media analyst for Benchmark Equity Research, in a recent note.

But it is a bit more than just gaining added U.S. market reach.

He says: “Nexstar will successfully acquire Tegna, creating massive synergies and an in-market juggernaut.”

This will come from benefiting from connected TV (CTV) related businesses, quickly gaining higher automotive advertising share, and big benefits from sporting events on its CW network. Nexstar also owns NewsNation, a cable TV news channel, and its around 200 TV stations.

Overall, there is a benefit that the strongest of the strong -- including possibly Sinclair Inc., second to Nexstar in terms of U.S. stations ownership -- will also make gains down the road with their own merger TV station group deals.

“We think there is ample evidence to suggest that new market definitions are likely to prevail with regards to one of the oldest, most outdated group of rules and regulations in the media industry.”

Competing cable TV network Newsmax is worried that eliminating that the 39% would harm smaller-to-midsize TV news platforms -- those owning national cable TV channels and TV stations.

Key for TV stations groups are their nonstop efforts around local -- and in some cases, still growing -- TV news coverage. This is live content that continues to be deemed highly valuable when it comes to viewer engagement for national and local TV advertisers.

Those gaining sizable market share then would also seem to be more competitive as live, premium video platforms against continuously growing, local digital players.

TV stations continue to see sharply higher political ad revenues every two years, with the midterm elections and Presidential election cycle.

Is all this enough to give thumbs up to legacy TV stations -- as an industry as a whole?

No doubt bigger players will create more competitors to digital-first local media platforms. Watch your big screens for answers.