The Ohio Attorney General’s Office struck a deal with Nexstar Media Group to keep two of Columbus’ TV stations independent after the media giant became the owner of both in a multi-billion dollar merger.
Attorney General Dave Yost previously expressed his “deep reservations” over the merger in a social media post earlier in April and the limiting of “independent voices.”
The announcement also comes after multiple states and DirecTV moved to block Nexstar’s merger with Tegna, which previously owned Columbus’ local CBS affiliate WBNS 10TV, 1460 ESPN Columbus and The Fan 97.1. Nexstar already owns WCMH/NBC4 in Columbus.
The merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 19 with a $3.54 billion price tag. But the acquisition required the FCC to waive a rule that doesn’t allow broadcast TV station owners to reach more than 39% of U.S. TV households. Under the merger, Nexstar’s reaches 80% of U.S. households and also includes WKYC in Cleveland, WTOL in Toledo and over 60 other stations nationwide.
Yost’s office said in a press release that Nexstar has agreed to “respect the editorial, personnel and production independence” at the two Columbus and Cleveland stations and will also have separate news teams for each station to ensure consumers have a fair choice in where they get their TV news.
“Journalistic independence is a cornerstone principle of our democracy,” Yost said in a press release. “I’m pleased that Nexstar has committed to upholding local news standards without going to court.”
The attorney general’s office assured in a press release that it will monitor Nexstar’s compliance with the agreement.
However, a federal judge placed a hold on the merger less than two weeks after it was approved. The agreement between the attorney general’s office and Nexstar is contingent on a federal judge lifting the injunction and the merger being allowed to move forward, according to an attorney general’s office spokesperson.
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio AG says deal preserves local TV journalism after Nexstar merger
Reporting by Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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