Trump Publicly Backs Proposed Merger Between Nexstar And Tegna | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday publicly backed a proposed merger between native tv station operator Nexstar Media and its smaller rival Tegna.

“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote in a social media put up. “GET THAT DEAL DONE!”

Nexstar final 12 months proposed a $3.54 billion acquisition of Tegna that may make the mixed entity the biggest U.S. regional TV station operator, with extra leverage with advertisers and pay-TV distributors. Local media is grappling with falling income and subscriber loss due to the recognition of streaming providers.

Trump’s Saturday put up on Truth Social appears to strike a unique tone from November, when he criticized a proposal to carry the present cap on native tv station possession, a transfer that’s vital for Tegna’s acquisition by Nexstar.

Nexstar owns or companions with greater than 200 stations and operates manufacturers akin to The CW and NewsNation, whereas Tegna runs 64 stations and networks, together with True Crime Network and Quest.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani and Jason Lange; Editing by Toby Chopra, Rod Nickel)