Nexstar CEO Perry Sook addressed the TV station group giant’s ongoing legal battle over its newly acquired rival media company, Tegna, during an earnings call with analysts Thursday.
At the very top of the call, Sook laid out what the next steps are in the fight, which currently includes a lawsuit filed by DirecTV and several state attorneys general (including California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont) to undo the already completed $6.2 billion merger. While both the FCC and the Department of Justice’s antitrust arm have approved Nexstar’s purchase of Tegna, the pending lawsuits are focusing on monopoly claims and have received agreement from a District Court judge.
Nexstar is currently appealing that decision and has until May 11 to make its response.
“We gave you the complete laundry list of all threatened and pending litigation that we’re aware of at this time,” Sook said, when asked by an analyst if there were any other potential barriers in Nexstar’s ability to resolve its Tegna ownership. “We’re not aware of anything else that is in the offing. So I think you you know everything we know in terms of what’s in front of us at this time.”
More to come…