NewsMax Tries Blocking Nexstar

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has a big problem.

His problem is that NewsMax CEO Chris Ruddy has a much tighter relationship with Donald Trump than Sook does.

Ruddy continues to fire shots at the Nexstar/Tegna deal, and while this is all happening on air and online, he’s playing it all to a party of one:

Donald Trump.

What Ruddy is really scared of is not the fact that Nexstar will take over the Tegna stations, but the fact that as Nexstar grows bigger, it will give Nexstar a great chance of helping grow News Nation.

No matter what NewsMax says, this is their reason for trying to block the deal.

In a normal world, the President should have little to no say in the deal. But we don’t live in a normal world anymore.

Here is a portion of what Newsmax posted, and due to the Ruddy/Trump relationship, this does not bode well for Nexstar.

“Newsmax Media, Inc. has formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to block the proposed $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA Inc., warning that the deal would violate federal law, harm competition, raise prices for consumers, and damage local news across the country.

In a detailed Petition to Deny filed Dec. 31 with the FCC, Newsmax argues that the transaction represents an unprecedented consolidation of broadcast power that Congress has expressly prohibited.

The filing is signed by Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy.

If the deal is approved, Nexstar would become the largest TV station owner in the nation owning 244 television stations across 44 states.

The company also owns NewsNation, the left-leaning cable news channel that leads its prime-time programming each night with former CNN host Chris Cuomo.

"This transaction violates the law and creates an unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of one broadcaster," the petition states.

In a statement Ruddy said, "This merger would create an unprecedented and dangerous consolidation within the broadcast TV industry, giving them immense control over local news and political news coverage."

Newsmax added that approval would set the stage for a domino effect of similar mergers that would further entrench liberal media dominance in the television industry”