Newsmax analyst Tom Basile says the proposed merger of TV giant Nexstar Media Group and Tegna poses a real danger to competition, conservative media, and viewpoint diversity.
He says Americans — and the Trump administration — should oppose the merger.
Nexstar, the largest owner of local television stations in America, announced this week its plan to acquire Tegna, the nation's fourth-largest broadcaster, in a deal valued at more than $6 billion.
Appearing on "American Agenda" on Wednesday, Basile sounded the alarm, calling the deal a threat to "viewpoint diversity."
He also said it would override existing television ownership caps that President Reagan implemented in the 1980s to protect against media groups and networks controlling local news across the nation.
"This is about protecting free speech and different viewpoints," Basile said.
If approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the merger would give Nexstar ownership of more than 265 TV stations, creating a dominant media conglomerate unlike anything in U.S. broadcasting history.
Currently, FCC ownership caps limit any TV network from owning stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households.
Nexstar previously had an exemption that allowed it to reach 63% — and the new merger could give it a market penetration of over 80%.
Industry analysts warn that such dominance could reshape the pricing and carriage negotiations with cable and satellite providers — potentially impacting what viewers see and how much they pay.
Basile said if this merger was accepted, it would create a precedent for a small number of companies controlling most broadcast TV or even billionaires like George Soros.
He noted the caps were an attempt to keep competition in the TV arena – the "principle was bipartisan back then — Democrats and Republicans agreed that too much concentration in media hands was bad for democracy."
"Now, we're watching those guardrails get dismantled piece by piece," Basile added.
Basile pointed out that Nexstar owns the left-leaning cable news channel NewsNation, which features prominent liberal media personalities like Chris Cuomo.
"That's fine," he said, "but if they control that much of the broadcast market, how will conservative outlets compete?"
"This isn't just about politics," Basile added. "It's about whether communities will still have independent voices covering school boards, local corruption, and small-town issues that the national networks ignore."
Newsmax has formally opposed the merger, urging the FCC to reject it.
In its filing with the FCC opposing the lifting of TV ownership caps, Newsmax noted that local news, the main way Americans get their community news, would be under siege from liberal media companies.
A recent TVB study found that local TV stations were the number one way Americans get their local news, but for all news generally.
Basile said President Donald Trump has not weighed in on the matter, but said he doubted he would be supportive of this merger or lifting the caps.
"He's been very big on making sure left-wing media can't put its finger on the scale," Basile said.
"We've already seen an erosion of local news and an over-prioritization of national news at the expense of communities," Basile said.
"People are getting fewer choices, not more, and that's dangerous for democracy," he said
In its filing before the FCC, Newsmax noted that in years past Congress and FCC had removed caps and ownership restrictions across the radio industry.
The result was that local news and programming were gutted in favor of national programming while the radio industry suffered as a result of consolidation. Today the radio industry is controlled by three companies, all of which have been in bankruptcy or face it.
Whether the FCC approves the Nexstar-Tegna merger remains uncertain.
Basile noted Commissioner Brendan Carr has signaled openness to lifting the cap, but legal challenges could follow.
"This may be far from over," Basile said. "It could end up in the courts."
"The American people need to pay attention to this," Basile concluded. "It's not just an inside-the-Beltway fight — it's about whether you still have a choice in what you watch and who tells your news."
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